PMS 2.0 1298 - LIVE from the NFL Combine, Michael Lombardi & Brandon Beane

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Pat McAfee Show – PMS 2.0 1298

Episode Overview Released on February 28, 2025, The Pat McAfee Show features host Pat McAfee alongside co-hosts AJ Hawk, Boston Connor, Mad Mel Kuiper, and Tone Diggs. In episode 1298, titled "LIVE from the NFL Combine, Michael Lombardi & Brandon Beane," the team provides in-depth coverage of the NFL Combine events held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Special guests Michael Lombardi, General Manager of the UNC Tar Heels, and Brandon Beane, General Manager of the Buffalo Bills, join the discussion to share insights on team strategies, player performances, and draft prospects.

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Live Coverage from the NFL Combine

Pat McAfee Sets the Stage [00:00 - 01:10] Pat welcomes listeners to the Lucas Oil Stadium, emphasizing the excitement surrounding the NFL Combine's final day. He hints at surprise guests and special segments, setting an energetic tone for the episode.

Quote:

"Combine as magical as is that particular jib shot from Scott that was different than any had done before." – Pat McAfee [00:15]

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Tight Ends and Secondary Focus

Deep Dive into Positions [01:30 - 03:37] Mad Mel Kuiper and Boston Connor discuss the depth of this year's tight end class, highlighting prospects like Tyler Warren and Shemar Stewart. They emphasize the importance of athleticism and production in evaluating players.

Quote:

"The tight end class is one of the deepest in a long, long time." – Mad Mel Kuiper [02:00]

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Standout D-Line Performances

Shemar Stewart's Exhibit [07:48 - 09:07] Tone Diggs praises Shemar Stewart for his exceptional Combine performance, comparing his stats to Miles Garrett. Despite limited college production, Stewart's athleticism makes him a potential NFL standout.

Quote:

"He ran a 4.5, 9 at almost 270 pounds... an absolute freak yesterday." – Tone Diggs [08:27]

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Matthew Stafford's Decision

Contract Negotiations and Team Implications [17:28 - 25:36] A significant portion of the episode revolves around Matthew Stafford's decision to remain with the Los Angeles Rams. Pat McAfee breaks down the potential financial negotiations and the ripple effects on other teams looking for quarterbacks. Discussions highlight how Stafford's choice impacts draft strategies and veteran quarterback markets.

Quote:

"When Matthew Stafford stays with the Rams, it changes the math for all the teams needing a quarterback." – Pat McAfee [24:22]

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Technological Advances in the NFL

Chain Gang Revival and Hawkeye Technology [42:01 - 47:42] The hosts discuss the controversial return of the traditional chain gang and the introduction of Hawkeye technology for spotting the ball. Opinions are divided on the efficiency and accuracy of these methods compared to manual measurements.

Quote:

"If there's a malfunction, we need backup. But Hawkeye has to be efficient and accurate." – Pat McAfee [42:28]

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Guest Insights: Michael Lombardi and Brandon Beane

Michael Lombardi on Team Building [48:07 - 56:40] Michael Lombardi shares his experiences as the GM of the UNC Tar Heels, emphasizing the importance of recruiting, maintaining relationships with agents, and the transition from college to professional football operations.

Quote:

"College football is no longer amateur. It's about teaching players how to become pros." – Michael Lombardi [56:19]

Brandon Beane on Draft Strategies [86:38 - 102:34] Brandon Beane discusses the complexities of the NFL draft, including evaluating player grades, balancing team needs with best-available talent, and managing salary caps. He highlights the importance of medical evaluations and the challenges of drafting players who opt out of Combine workouts.

Quote:

"You have to communicate and trust your physicians to make the right decisions for your club." – Brandon Beane [87:56]

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Key Takeaways and Conclusions

1. Position Depth Matters: The NFL Combine highlighted significant depth in tight ends and defensive secondary, offering teams multiple options to bolster their rosters.

2. Athleticism vs. Production: Players like Shemar Stewart demonstrate that exceptional athleticism can offset limited college production, making them attractive draft prospects.

3. Veteran Quarterback Market: Matthew Stafford's decision to stay with the Rams has significant implications for other teams in need of quarterbacks, potentially shifting draft priorities and veteran acquisitions.

4. Technological Integration: The NFL's adoption of Hawkeye technology and the revival of the chain gang have sparked debates about efficiency and accuracy in game officiating.

5. GM Strategies: Insights from Michael Lombardi and Brandon Beane reveal the intricacies of team management, emphasizing the balance between building for the future and addressing immediate team needs.

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Notable Quotes:

• Pat McAfee:

  "If you go out here and light it up, maybe whenever one of these teams that is going to inevitably end up without a vet goes, yeah, I want that guy over that guy." [03:37]

• Mad Mel Kuiper:

  "Tight ends have always been the knight in the chessboard. They do so many different things; you need them." [67:17]

• Brandon Beane:

  "Ultimately, I don't think you want to overreact. Naturally, that game played out the way it did." [93:37]

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Final Thoughts: The Pat McAfee Show delivers a comprehensive and engaging analysis of the NFL Combine, enriched by expert insights from prominent General Managers. The episode balances technical evaluations with lively banter, making it accessible and informative for both avid football fans and casual listeners. As the NFL season progresses, the discussions from this episode provide valuable context for future team performances and draft outcomes.

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Transcript

[Pat McAfee]

Hello beautiful people and welcome to Lucas Oil Stadium here in beautiful Indianapolis, Indiana, the forever home of the Combine. This program starts now. Combine as magical as is that particular jib shot from Scott that was different than any had done before. The Louisiana man can sense that there might be some gator nuggets on the ways. This is our last day here here at the combine but it will obviously continue through the weekend. Today it is the tight ends and the secondary working out on the field while others are bench pressing and meeting behind the scenes with teams and medical and you name it. It has been an absolute blast to be down here all week long. Now we've been hearing a lot of things as I assume a lot of you have. We'll certainly chat about that. We have Michael Lombardi, the general manager of UNC that will be joining us at some point in the first hour. In the second hour we'll have Brandon Bean joining us now. There might be some surprise guests and there might be some stop bys and there might be some magical things that happen during this show. From what we are being told now, it's not just me, obviously I'm here with a great group of lads and once again Ty Schmidt has missed the program.

[Boston Connor]

Damn.

[Pat McAfee]

No text from him today. We hope he is okay. If you could send your love to Ty we would be wildly grateful. But the toxic table is here. It just looks a little different at Boston. Connor and Mad Mel Kuiper. Mad Mel today, tight ends, allegedly a deep class secondary. People going to run fast. What are you looking forward to today here in beautiful Indianapolis, Indiana?

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Yeah, I think, you know, you mentioned how deep this year's tight end class is, Pat. I think you're exactly right. Obviously the top two guys, you know, Tyler, Warren, Colson, Loveland, I don't think they're going to do much today. So we're going to really test the depth today. You know, a couple other guys, couple prospects who, you know, if you go by raw athletic score, ras, which everyone's talking about, the Raz score. We're going to see which of these guys maybe makes a name for themselves and really pushes themselves up big boards as maybe the number three, number four, number five, tight end con man.

[Pat McAfee]

I don't like hearing new names say they're not working out the combine.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah, I don't love that at all.

[Pat McAfee]

I mean Shador Sanders wasn't going to throw up a came to meet and do medical. He announced that before the combine, said, hey listen, I got a lot of years of tape that you can watch I'll be throwing in my pro day, which is a normal thing. This does happen. His workout partner, Cam Ward also has come out and said he will not be throwing here. Tyler Warren, not playing. Loveland, Loveland hurt, I believe. Arroyo, tight end out of Miami, also not working out. So you're seeing some people, big names, high end guys, not work out. Pretty status quo. Don't need that to become the norm with everybody, though. Con man.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah, it's terrible. I feel like those guys, at least they were, you know, consistently great all year. But it does open the door, you know. Will Howard, let's see what you got. You can be the star here. And you know, we hung around and watched the D line linebackers yesterday. I'm not sure if that's Mike. Exhilarating. Very fun to sit around and watch that for a little bit. They didn't actually have the times in the stad. That was a huge miss. So we had to watch the TV copy as well, which was great.

[Pat McAfee]

Because, Rich, the time is always like projected time. It's not the actual time. So I think they. Because in the stadium, all the teams are getting their own time.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Which is nice. But for the people in here, you know, it's tough to even know the relative. Hey, could be four seconds, could be eight. You know, who really knows how to clock those things? But now, you know, it'll be nice to see some of the other guys step up a little bit. And I know there's a tight end out of Bowling Green. Fanning is his name. Fannin Fanning Fannin, who's a absolute stud, shattered a bunch of records this year. So maybe a little less known guys, unlike the Cam Wards and Shadors and Tyler Warrens and Lovelands, maybe make a little name for themselves here today, which would be nice.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, Put on a little bit of a show here in Indianapolis. You can certainly steal it and maybe bump up your draft stock a little bit. And that's what the magical thing about Indianapolis is, is you got a lot of conversations happening behind the scenes. You got a lot of workouts, you got a lot of face to face time with these coaches. And you know, Jim Harbaugh said the other day on our program to start this entire week of us down here at the combine. He said, all these guys say they like to compete. Well, here's an opportunity. Come compete. Some of these guys can really do it. Will Howard. Okay, My source are telling me that last night, 11pm at night, some people from Indianapolis were walking around downtown and they look into a hotel parking lot. It's a little chilly last night here in Indianapolis, and there's one guy taking drop backs and throwing a football over a parking thing to the other side. And there's somebody coaching or catching it. They get a little bit closer. They say, well, that's a tall, big son of a bitch throwing the ball there. Sure is this somebody trying to just be like, hey, Uncle Rico, this thing combine week. All the NFL people here. I'm gonna do this. Got a little bit closer. It was Will Howard. Wow. It was Will Howard. I don't know if he flew in or got here earlier, whatever the case was, but he had a throwing, you know, schedule that had to happen. Did at 11pm last night in a hotel parking lot. Not for the cameras. There's no cameras around. The person walked by and said it was just him and one other person who was catching the ball for him. Did not know who it was. Will Howard is ready to come out here and make a big impression, I believe. I have not talked to Will. I've not talked to Will's people. I. I don't know them that well. A lot of people are asking, like, hey, Pat, has Will Howard got you guys on the payroll? No. We just so happen to be at all of these games where he played his best ball and he's a big son of a bitch. And whenever you talk about being big, whenever you talk about having moxie, when you talk about being likable, and whenever you talk about being able to put a ball on a.it's like, is that not what we're looking for in the quarterback? And then, allegedly, I was at Cafe Patichou this morning, obviously an Indianapolis staple. There's a lot of people there, and some people were dropping some information. Had a great breakfast with Rich Eisen. Shout out to Rich Eisen for paying for breakfast.

[Tone Diggs]

Shout out.

[Pat McAfee]

Getting a chance to kind of see people and chat with people. There's people that are like 10 of Ohio State guys were kind of asked, if you could bring one player with you to the next level, to a team, who would it be? And I think eight or nine of them said Will Howard. So when you talk about a guy being loved by the boys, especially with how that season went, losing to Michigan, losing to Oregon, a lot of money, a lot of names, a lot of egos, a lot of hype going in that could have kind of spun in on of itself. Got to give credit to Ryan Day, obviously, for keeping the boys rolling. Got to give credit to Chip Kelly for Being able to keep the boys rolling. Who I saw yesterday, he looks fantastic. I'm going to go back to college, win a national championship time and come up to the NFL and try to do the same damn thing as an offense coordinator this time, not a head coach in the NFL. Has a lot more off of his plate and he's able to just focus on football, which would be good. But Will Howard had touchdown celebration dances with every guy on the Ohio State Buckeyes. He was the guy that they looked to to rally and he was the guy that got it done. He's a national champion. He's a stud and he seems like a perfect guy to lead your program. Will he come out here with Cam with Shador not thrown. Jackson dart will be thrown. Went to Ole Miss. Well, easy, easy cantaloupe, if you could say that. Are we even allowed to say Ole Miss? Are we even allowed to say the school name?

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

You actually can't even mention the state of Mississippi.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, is this America? Yeah, it is. There's a lot of people, you know, saying a lot of. We didn't start it. Okay. It happened to be the number one trend in the world for about two days. We allude to it, say no names. I got people saying I'm a terrible. I did.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

What are we reporting the news.

[Boston Connor]

That's all.

[Pat McAfee]

I've already done this dance. I've already done this dance with somebody from Mississippi before. Okay. So I'm. I'm ready if you would like all the people that are coming after me. We're ready. We are a okay in that world. But Jackson dart out of a university in the South. I guess not even. Oh. Even though I say that whole thing. But he could potentially make a massive jump in this entire thing. I love the opportunity for these guys whenever other people choose not to perform and I think we're going to see that now today. Tight end, secondary tone. What happened yesterday that is notable and what's going to happen today that we need to talk about.

[Tone Diggs]

Yeah, we'll start. Yes, yesterday and we'll start with the D line. Shamar Stewart was the basically the talk of the town last night during the workouts. He weighed in at 652-67. When was he was at the Senior bowl he was 65281. So he lost about £14 to do what he did yesterday. Obviously you're looking right there. He ran a 4, 5, 9 at that height and weight which is absurd. He also jumped a 40 inch vertical and a 1011 broad. He basically had the same exact Numbers as Miles Garrett in the combine. Obviously Miles, you know, was a top pick and had 32 and a half sacks in college. Shemar only had four and a half sacks in college, so the production wasn't there. But as an athlete, he was an absolute freak yesterday.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. And he lost some weight from the Senior bowl until now. He was listed at 6, 6, 2, 90 in the guide. So was he originally that. Then he gets down to 281. Now he's at 267. It's like, what will he end up being if he gets down to 260, 255. Is he only going to get faster? Runs a 4 5, 9 at almost 270 pounds.

[Tone Diggs]

Yes.

[Pat McAfee]

What an absolute specimen. And I believe everything he did was in like the 99th percentile or 98th percentile. And you know, I don't think a lot of people knew Shemar Stewart's name maybe before yesterday. And then yesterday everybody's like, hey, this guy's going to do a day. This guy's going to have a day. And he did. So he shows up in a big moment, has the body type in the making to be a great NFL player. Good, good for Shemar Stewart making himself some real money yesterday.

[Tone Diggs]

Great. Also on the DND line group, Landon Jackson out of Arkansas. He is 66270. He jumped 40 and a half in his, in his vertical and he ran a 4, 6, 8, which is ridiculous. He had six and a half sacks each of the last two seasons. He's a late round first, early second guy who probably helped his stock a ton yesterday. He also redeemed himself in the bag drill in high school. He had a tape come out that wasn't great in the bag drill yesterday. Just an absolute monster. Just a different human being.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, definitely. And I think he was obviously going crazy around the Internet because of the high school bag drill. And people like, you remember this guy? And it was like, no, I actually didn't. And then once I saw the video, I was like, oh yeah. I remember the guy walking up, stopping, smacking a bag and then jogging four yards, smacking another bag and rolling. He had a hell of a day for the Woo Pig Suey bunch.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah, hell of a day.

[Tone Diggs]

Then we go to the linebacker position, a guy we talked about yesterday who was going to show out and did show. Jihad Campbell, the linebacker from Alabama. He weighed in 632-235-RAN a 45 and then was just like super smooth in the linebacker drills. So he secured himself at first round spot yesterday and like watching his tape, like he sees ball, he goes against ball. So he, he definitely helped himself yesterday. And then the last one was James Pierce Jr. Who, when you were going through Abdul Carter stats yesterday, you were talking about Abdul Carter. And then the second name that you mentioned the entire time was James Pierce Jr. The edge out of Tennessee. He had 17 sacks the last two seasons. He ran a 4, 4, 7 yesterday at 65245. So I think he solidified himself as the number two edge to probably come.

[Pat McAfee]

Off the board somehow. Everybody's getting faster, bigger and stronger. And it's an honor to watch, you know, all the hard work that has gone in behind the scenes to get to this point. Remember, we're just watching these dudes do these things. The amount of hours and early wake up calls and strict diet and everything that has gotten to this point, absolutely bananas. Congrats to James Pierce Jr. Let's go back to Jihad Campbell because I was watching all the workouts last night. I think they went till about 10, 10:05, 10, 15 last night. Late night last night. And I was watching the entire thing. He's lanky. Yeah. He's a long, lanky fella. Incredibly smooth. A lot of the workouts they had them doing uncomfortable and awkward. We're talking about full sprints, one direction, then telling you to stop, turn around, having to sprint back and then catch the ball being thrown directly at you, maybe at your body or at your face. Tough things to do. He was clean throughout the entirety. There was a guy from Georgia.

[Tone Diggs]

Yeah. Smale Mundon.

[Pat McAfee]

Smell. What's his name?

[Tone Diggs]

Smail Mundon, I believe.

[Pat McAfee]

Smale. Smail Munden.

[Tone Diggs]

Believe it's how you pronounce his first name. I could be completely wrong.

[Pat McAfee]

I'm not 100% sure if that is.

[Tone Diggs]

What his name is, but Junior. Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Small Monday, whatever it is. He's a linebacker. Can we put the tweet up that I put out there? Yeah. Here's the. Is that the work? Yeah, here it is. Smail Munden, Jr. Linebacker from Georgia. I didn't know. We didn't. I didn't. I thought we didn't have the video. He must have found. We found it very late. Okay, so we find the video. So he's running one of these drills right here. And I'm watching this last night and this guy is moving. You talk about 50 plus tackles each of the last three seasons. These are the exercises. Full sprint that way, Stop, turn. Now a strike is being thrown at you and he. That hits him right in the face. And he just jogs it right off. And to be honest, I don't know how that doesn't happen more to these guys. How often are you sprinting directly at a quarterback and he's throwing a strike right at your face? So that thing, you're running full speed, one direction because that's how you're being judged. Are you going to be able to go full speed, stop, turn, go full speed back, and then that thing's running right at your face. Looks like an easy catch. A lot of guys made a catch, a lot of guys dropped it. He got hit right in the face, bonked right in the nose or the eye. I thought potentially they said no and he ended up getting back in there. But it was a lot of activity. It went very long last night and the energy was insane on the field. We saw some guys benching this morning, a lot of juice. Looked like there was some movement. Feels like there's some special situations popping up here.

[Tone Diggs]

Yeah, it is. And then today we move on to the D bet and the tight ends, like you said. And a guy that I think is going to do kind of what Shemar Stewart did yesterday is. And while everybody is Nick Eamon Worry, who's a safety from South Carolina, he's 6, 3, 2, 25, and he expects to run like low four threes. And he is just an absolute monster on tape. He, like, remember when Taylor Mays came out and wowed everybody at his height, weight and then ran like in the four threes. They're expecting Nick, I mean, worry to do that today. Malachi Starks, who's the safety from Georgia, who is personally, when you look at the safeties, he is by far the best at playing the ball in this draft. He's going to run in the four threes most likely today. People are going to be very, very impressed by that. And then you move to the tight ends. We talked about the tight ends that aren't doing anything today. And Connor referenced Harold Fannin out of Bowling Green, a Mac guy. So we're going to see him today. He set the record for most yards and most catches in a tight end in one season in football and college football history. So we'll look at him today. And then the other one is kind of a forgotten guy on that Oregon offense. Terence Ferguson, tight end. He said he's going to run very well today, 65260. So if he moves well today, he's also going to move up.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, so Terence Ferguson, obviously, that Oregon offense is what it is. You know, with the Way they move the ball and everything like that. He was a monster. But they got a lot of guys over there on that Oregon team that are monsters, excited to see him show up. And then the secondary, there's guys going to run a 4:2.

[Tone Diggs]

Yeah. Maxwell Harrison, he's out of Kentucky. He's the guy that DJ said yesterday he's one of his three guys that he said could push the Xavier worthy record. And then we talked to some sources about Maxwell Harrison who said he's definitely going to run. Probably they expect him to be the fastest 40 of the draft.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, well, he's not the only one who thinks so. I saw a couple people say they're going to run the fastest.

[Tone Diggs]

Yeah. Both out of Texas. Isaiah Bond thinks that he's going to run the fastest of all time wide receiver.

[Pat McAfee]

I think we have the video right, Foxy.

[Boston Connor]

I'm going to break the record tomorrow for sure.

[Pat McAfee]

I anticipate running four two zero or possibly.

[Boston Connor]

I'm feeling great.

[Michael Lombardi]

I might want four one.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay. Okay. So he feels like that's how he's going to go. Mr. Bond shout out to him saying that. And he wasn't the only one.

[Tone Diggs]

Yeah. Jaden Blue out of Texas, running back out of Texas. He said the same exact thing. So those Texas boys, which, you know, they ran with Xavier last year, so they might have an idea of their speed against him. So they think they're going to compete with him this year.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. And obviously Sark just is a track factory, I guess, down there. Makes you wonder, you know, with everything else going on, is that just going to continue? Is Texas going to continue to have that speed? And if they do, what is Arch Manning going to do with it? Oh, Quinn, yours. Playing through an injury last year is kind of what the narrative has become here at combine. So a lot of people are impressed with his toughness. We'll see how he throws and does everything here at the combine. Excited to watch that. The. The combo around the combine, though.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Has not been about the prospects. It has not been about what's going on in the field. Now, granted, if Bond runs a 419, it'll certainly that'll become. Or blue. Whatever the case, that'll become the convo. The convo here is. Is a deal gonna get done with Matthew Stafford, because remember this beautiful city of Indianapolis, Indiana, which is the greatest host of any event that you would like to have. Literally any event you'd like to have. Indianapolis would like to host it. And we'll do it better than anybody else. We're built for hosting. We love hosting and the reason is because we got a lot of restaurants that are within walking distance to everything. We got a lot of servers. The service industry here in Indianapolis very much understands what the deal is. They'll keep restaurants open, they'll keep bars open, they'll give back rooms, they'll give privacy, they'll let people have their convos. And it's become an NFL spring break to get deals done or test out the waters for if there's any other conversations to be had. The big one happening here, Matthew Stafford, he's the first domino they say in the quarterback, not just for the older potential free agent quarterbacks. Not that Matthew Stafford's a free agent, but he's been allowed to snoop around. So you might as well consider him that Aaron Rodgers hasn't officially been released, but he's like a free agent. Sam Darnold, the entire Russell Wilson, Justin Fields, you know, Kirk Cousins, potentially, we'll see what happens with him. But the domino that needs to fall first allegedly is Matthew Stafford. He is looking to get paid from what everybody has been saying. And once he gets decided now the draft class quarterbacks get viewed a little bit differently. Now the other veteran quarterbacks get viewed a little bit differently. But what the hell is going to happen with Matthew Stafford? Well, I think it's been reported and if it hasn't been reported, I guess we, we. No, I don't think we're breaking any news. I think everything that we're about to say has been reported. It is difficult though, without a doubt because there's a lot of conversations happening with a lot of people that know a lot of shit here at the combine. So what's going into this year? Like the amount of times I'm saying, am I allowed to say that? Has that been. Am I. What is the, you know, I feel like I'm an insider almost at this.

[Tone Diggs]

Point was doing yesterday.

[Pat McAfee]

I feel like we all do, like because we're just shaking hands with people in passing and they're just dropping information. It's like I didn't know that. Is that you didn't say off the record. Yeah, yeah. But we're trying not to catch anybody up and we're not in the insider game. But I think what has been reported is this morning as we speak, either moments ago or still currently Matthew Stafford in the Los Angeles Ramsay meeting. Now there are other teams that are very, very, very interested from what is being reported and what source says have been telling us the Raiders allegedly very, very interested. Allegedly There is an offer that is very much in play for Matthew Stafford to potentially, you know, go to the Raiders if he doesn't get something figured out with the Los Angeles Rams, where he only has 4 million guaranteed coming up into next season, which is basically a nothing contract for any player, let alone a starting quarterback, let alone a guy who's going to end up in the hall of Fame, who wants to play ball still. So whenever you think about Matthew Stafford, you think about, okay, he's having a convo with the Rams today. If that ends up going very well, does he go back to the Los Angeles Rams? Okay, if he goes back to the Los Angeles Rams. Now, everybody that was looking at Matthew Stafford to potentially be their quarterback is still in the market. Raiders, Giants, Steelers. How about the Browns? They're going to go young, but what are they going to do? So once Matthew gets figured out, which we are being told and I think is being reported, is going to get figured out today, today we will know what is going on with Matthew. Does that mean during our show, does that mean later tonight? Who knows? But what's happening with Matthew allegedly cooking as we speak over there in Los Angeles?

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Well, you mentioned it. I mean, this kind of everything hinges on this. We really can't move any other chess pieces until this gets done. And it kind of sounds like, I mean, we'll.

[Pat McAfee]

If.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

If nothing gets done with the Rams, something is in place with the Raiders. Now, granted, you know, there's still pieces that need to be moved around, but you wonder, you know, if he does go to the Raiders, is that one of those things where, hey, he's going to bring Cooper cup with him and he maybe brings a couple other guys with him because we already know that the Rams are going to move on from Cooper Cup. Now, obviously, I think the Rams give him the best chance to win in the interim, but who's to say? I mean, the Raiders haven't had a quarterback in years. That's kind of what I mean. This is a new Raiders.

[Pat McAfee]

French Gannon.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Yeah, that's what I'm saying. I mean, that was the last guy worth the shit, you know, kind of.

[Pat McAfee]

Well, speaking of Derek Carr allegedly going to be the Saints quarterback. Going forward.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Exactly.

[Pat McAfee]

Great player.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

He was great, but obviously didn't have the type of success. So it does kind of feel like Matthew Stafford, he might be one of those guys where if he goes to the Raiders, you know, who's to say that he doesn't turn them around, you know, right away? Obviously, we know the Rams want him back it's all about the money at this point, but we'll see what happens. You know, you get a couple suitors out there kind of tickling your taint, and maybe you don't decide, I want to go.

[Pat McAfee]

Right, yeah, there is a chance that that happens.

[Boston Connor]

Oh, yeah, it's very plausible. And it also sets the draft. Like when you're looking at those top four, four picks, you know, the team. Two of the teams you just mentioned, the Browns and the Giants, they're both in the top three. And those are kind of the quarterback needy teams still. And, you know, with the Raiders, you would think, sure, they could go get Stafford, they can get cut, but I wouldn't rule out them even drafting the quarterback after that because Brady is probably one of the loudest guys of, hey, sitting behind someone and learning and being able to see that. Obviously him and Bledsoe Rogers, you know, and there's been guys who haven't done that and have had a ton of success. Jaden Daniels. But it feels like that is kind of the most fur shot or for sure way to get your rookie quarterback to become great immediately. And then, you know, that that would set up some of the other teams as well. And the Browns, you would assume, no matter what, AT2 are going to take a quarterback just because that number two pick has just been the, you know, definitely going to be a guy. If you have the number two pick and you take a quarterback, let the.

[Pat McAfee]

Number one team do their thing. You guys decide, hands off.

[Boston Connor]

Okay, number two, whatever quarterback you take, history tells us in the last two years, they are going to be unbelievable immediately. But really, Stafford is going to make so many massive, you know, decisions for other teams based on where he goes. And with this upcoming draft and the.

[Pat McAfee]

Las Vegas Raiders, you know, obviously they're looking at a quarterback. Need a quarterback. Talked to Chip Kelly yesterday. Chip Kelly said, I literally read out here, I said, you guys need a quarterback, right? He goes, every team needs quarterback. And I'm like, okay, Chip, that's not true. Okay, no, but he's saying, technically, yes, every team needs a quarterback right now. He was literally like just being like, yeah, I need a quarterback to play football, you know, and he said to you, you want to play quarterback for us? I'm like, chip Kelly, offense.

[Boston Connor]

Hold on.

[Pat McAfee]

Sure. Are you going to be calling that, you know, that entirety? I think the fascinating situation with the Raiders and you brought it up there, all the OG quarterbacks are like, we're rushing these guys in here. We're rushing these guys in here. We're giving these guys no chance at all. Now, Tom Brady, who everybody at the Combine has basically said, very active. Tom Brady has been very active in being the owner of the Raiders. Tom Brady has been very active in, like, hey, not only my investment, but also, if I'm associated with this place, I would like it to do well. I would like it to go well. Now, he just so happened to be skiing in Montana at the same exact time Matthew Stafford was skiing in Montana. They're both incredibly wealthy, got same houses or got houses in the same community out there in Montana, and they just so happen to be there. And, you know, that is kind of what's being reported by one particular party of the Starbucks scuffle. And on the other side of the Starbucks stare down is saying, you think they just so happen to be in the same town in Montana at the same exact time in this timeframe where one is wondering what the future looks like and the other is needing that exact person. That's what Schultz is saying. NFL Network saying, they just so happen. Hey, happenstance. This happens with rich people all the time. And Schultz goes, I know I've grown up in the rich world, but there is always so that has been an argument, but I think what hasn't been said is that they didn't meet when he was out there, that they didn't go skiing together whenever they were out there. And that kind of falls in line with everything we're hearing about Tom Brady as the owner. Whenever the head coach interview was happening with Pete Carroll, you know, who's running the interview, Tom Brady, whenever every other interview was happening around the building, you know, was running the interview, Tom Brady, general manager thing, Tom Brady. Now, I would assume Tom Brady is very much involved in who's going to be our quarterback. And I think that is why whenever PFT and Florio reports like, hey, there's common ground in Vegas, it's like, yeah, because Tom Brady's quarterback understands quarterback situation, understands exactly, exactly where Matthew Stafford is whenever he went down to Tampa. And he can also tell Matthew who's looking for a massive paycheck. Allegedly, is what being said now there is nine figures on in an offer sheet somewhere, allegedly for Matthew Stafford in this entire thing at this stage. Congratulations to him on that. But Tom took like 25 mil guaranteed to go down there to Tampa to build up a team and win. It's like, what is he saying versus what other teams are saying? What does Matthew Stafford want? How's the meeting go this morning with the Rams? I mean, there's just so much to kind of go into it all. And all eyes are on the Georgia Bulldog Matthew Stafford, draft class 2009.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Ooh, you know something about. Yeah, you mentioned it.

[Pat McAfee]

He got picked 221 picks ahead of me. You knew that, Mad Mel.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Well, without a doubt. But, you know, and a lot of people said, hey, maybe you should have, you know, been a second third round guy, you know, and they just didn't give you the opportunity. Didn't look enough tape, you know, maybe didn't get eyes on you.

[Pat McAfee]

I think he invited the combine.

[Tone Diggs]

Bingo.

[Pat McAfee]

I think he invited the combine. Thanks, Mad Mel.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Not my decision.

[Pat McAfee]

No, that's not what. I heard you. How many combines have you done?

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Every single one of them. I'm not inviting guys, you know, I'm not, I'm not.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, so you don't have any say?

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Well, you know, do I have say? Do I not have say? I mean that kind of, you know, that's something we don't need to really discuss right now. You mentioned the money situation though, with Stafford. You don't want to phrase it like all he cares about is money. Obviously he's a quarterback in the NFL. He's going to, he has a career. But you talk about those situations. Look at the tax situation in Vegas. A little bit different than the tax situation in la. A little bit different than what they're reporting about, you know, the New York giants saying, hey, 90 to 100 mil guaranteed, right? When you come here, your, your dollar is going a little bit farther in Las Vegas than it's going into any of those other places. So if money is, you know, one of the kind of end all, be alls of this whole, one of the caveats, if you will, then who's to say the Raiders aren't, you know, in terms of being able to compete with the Rams? They're right there.

[Pat McAfee]

So let's just play this out real quick. Matthew Stafford goes to Raiders. That means we assume Aaron's going to be in conversation with the Rams. You would assume that is how that is going to go.

[Boston Connor]

Darnold probably too.

[Pat McAfee]

And then Darnold probably in comfort with the Rams, with anybody at that point. And then now these other teams are at the top that need a quarterback. They have to start saying, okay, do we dive deeper into the rookie quarterbacks now? Is that maybe what Shador and Cam are here and too, like, hey, teams are kind of waiting to see what for sure is happening with the veterans quarterbacks before that. And are they like, well, if we throw now and we have a great day, of course it matters. But the only thing we can do is hurt ourselves. Maybe going into this conversation, I don't love it. I understand it business wise. But if you go out here and light it up, maybe whenever one of these teams that is going to inevitably end up without a vet goes, yeah, I want that guy over that guy. Now Browns, we assume, going to take quarterback. We assume they're going to take quarterback because they have to. Because it has to be a rookie quarterback has to be cheap money. They can't afford anybody else because they don't have it. So whoever goes there, everybody's saying Cam Ward, everybody's saying that's going to be Cam Ward. He's the number one quarterback. So now you look at the Giants, you look obviously at the Titans, you look at the Raiders, you look at a lot of these teams and eqb who falls in where. I think there's a chance that more rookies.

[Tone Diggs]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Kind of get drafted early than we had been talking about all the way up until this point.

[Boston Connor]

Well, and that's why the movement will be so interesting. Like obviously the Patriots, the Jags at, you know, 4 and 5, neither of those teams are taking a quarterback. The Patriots have Drake May. The Jags paid a lot of money to their quarterback, so they're not doing anything.

[Pat McAfee]

I mean, Titans, Browns, Giants, Raiders, Jets.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah, all of them.

[Pat McAfee]

All of them need a quarterback. Top seven and nine saying that they're sticking with Derek, but they need a quarterback too. You get a rookie quarterback in there, I mean, that's a lot.

[Tone Diggs]

They met with Cam, they met with.

[Boston Connor]

Cam Ward and they don't have that much money. Obviously they're in cap hell for who knows how long. So who says they wouldn't trade up to New England at four Because I think it was, maybe it was field or his DJ yesterday talking about how at 5, you know, the jets are in love with somebody. There's only Cam or Shedor left who says they don't hop the Raiders and go to 5 and take a quarterback?

[Pat McAfee]

And then I don't even want to speak just for our city, but I mean, the Indianapolis Colts at 14, they said it's open competition. The quarterback, would they want a young guy or they maybe want something else? I mean, like there's a lot of teams as you start to look at it and as we start to hear conversations. Now, granted, the people we're hearing from are people that would like these younger guys, you know, they would like these younger guys get opportunity, but they're like, hey, we're hearing a lot more interest than what is being reported. As teams continue to look at their situation, the situation around it, it's like, yeah, maybe we take a shot on a guy because a quarterback can be very cheap and that can help your entire salary cap if you can hit on a rookie guy.

[Tone Diggs]

But also. So I was listening to your podcast yesterday, Mel. You made a good point about, you know, the Giants at number three, like Day Ball and Joe Shane, like how many if they don't, if they don't win this year, like they're already on the hot seat. Are they going to do it with a rookie quarterback? At 3 if they don't get Matt Stafford?

[Pat McAfee]

Like I looked into this and maybe it was somebody that was around they bull in Shane. Not them exactly, but somebody from that area. Maybe the PR person. Sure.

[Boston Connor]

Okay.

[Pat McAfee]

Maybe the PR person could be comes over and says like, hey, our building thinks that you've been very fair with everything. Just want to let you know that like with the way we talked about the hard knocks and everything, they don't hold it again, like, hey, sure, you guys have been very fair. And I was like, that was very kind. Then dropped in. A little reminder. Dable's won like five Super Bowls.

[Tone Diggs]

He was coach of the year, national champion.

[Pat McAfee]

Like, I know it's with Bill, but he's just saying like, he's been around a lot. Nick in Nick Saban and Bill Belichick are like Dable's guys. They're like, let's not like, don't forget that please, in your conversation with everything we have going on, like, please don't forget that Day Ball has had massive success, which is why Mara is very much like, okay, you've seen it, you've done it. We've been behind the eight ball in a couple of situations. Let's see what you do. But them getting a young quarterback you would think would be able to help out the rest of the roster. Or maybe them going with the vet, like they're saying with Matthew Stafford and.

[Tone Diggs]

Like if they get a vet and then they, they pair neighbors with, you know, one of the best athletes of all time and Travis Hunter to come out and whether he's playing wideout or D back, like they immediately become a better team than Chadur and Connor kind of mentioned it. Like if they do get Stafford, the Raiders still, they've been mocked. Shadur at 8 or whatever, 7 or 8, whatever it is in every single mock because you know the relationship with Tom and the native quarterback. So like yeah. What happens with Stafford to be kind of put up. Not a bow on everything, but like, what. What happens with Stafford is. Is huge.

[Pat McAfee]

And allegedly today for everything. So last night I was watching the Combine. I thought the NFL Network did a great job with Combine. Congratulations to them. Legit. I think they've done a good job with figuring out how to film it and do it. Rich and Daniel Jeremiah are like, the perfect tone for it. It's long. I mean, you're watching golf. You're watching golf in there. Vrabes did look sweet.

[Boston Connor]

Always does. He's a big son of a, too. You notice that? He's just a big son of a. If you're a player out there and you want to coach for someone that's been there, done that, we're talking about Travis Hunter. How many super bowl catches? How many touchdowns? A few. Not just one. A few.

[Pat McAfee]

What did they say about the Patriots with Travis Hunter?

[Boston Connor]

That the meeting, you know, between Vrabel and Travis, they did have a little Joe feel, a little conversation before Travis left, talking about, like, hey, you're not the first guy to do this.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. But also in the evaluation of Travis Hunter, the New England Patriots. Have we heard anything about.

[Boston Connor]

The Patriots said they consider. And this is just being reported. This isn't from.

[Pat McAfee]

This is not from Vrabel to us. This is from other people's reporting.

[Boston Connor]

No, this is just from reporting. And it's not from Elliott Wolf either. But they consider Travis Hunter the number one corner and the number one wide receiver.

[Pat McAfee]

Now, that could be coming from Travis Hunter's agent who heard that from. I mean, there's just so much that gets kind of thrown around out here. Just like football is by will Howard at 11 o'clock at night. We were told that by somebody not associated with the NFL. Somebody lives in Indianapolis. We. We live here. So we know a lot of people around town and they're like, hey, saw a guy, huge guy, just throwing a football in a parking lot at 11 o'clock at night. We're like, look at Uncle Rico down here. And then we said, yeah, fuck it. We're gonna go see who that is. It was Will Howard. Yeah, it was Will Howard. And then just like a quick, what the hell is going on to the other guy, who they did not know. And he's like, I. Schedule has like a schedule. There was a. You know, so he got to do this. It's like, this guy might be the guy. This guy might be the guy in this. No, this person. Well, couldn't reiterate Enough. The. The guy that told us this, the source. I don't want to give. I almost just said name there.

[Boston Connor]

I almost did, too.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, we did not either.

[Boston Connor]

That. That's the whole.

[Pat McAfee]

That'd be the biggest day of this dude's life. You don't know. Yeah.

[Tone Diggs]

A guy in the NFL.

[Pat McAfee]

No, no, it's indie guy. It's indie guy that. That saw this. Who literally was just downtown and saw it. And it's like the thought that there was no cameras around, like, wasn't trying. It was just like, I got to get this in somewhere. It was like back parking lot, like, hidden away, almost as if trying not to. Just trying to get shit done. It's like. That's a hilarious aspect of it all. Who are football. Who are guys that you want to bring into your culture? You know, it's like if you listen to Cristobal down in Miami, Cam Moore, definitely a guy you want to bring in. He said he flipped that entire place on its head. Was an incredible leader. Shador has it in, like, everywhere. Shador's gone. Team has followed and gotten better. Incredible toughness, obviously able to do the entirety. Jackson Darts be loved, we believe, down there in the school in the South.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Oh, yeah.

[Michael Lombardi]

School in the South.

[Pat McAfee]

Sweet potato pie and we'll sweet pot.

[Tone Diggs]

Yeah, we should probably put a line through that.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. I don't even know if we're allowed to have that on the graphic underneath Jackson Dart. You know, you don't say names and people still.

[Boston Connor]

I mean, there's Lane Kiffin's team.

[Pat McAfee]

There's been a lot of things, brother. It's the number one trend in the world.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

What are you going to do?

[Pat McAfee]

Well, what do we. I mean, we are topical, but, like, what are we? And I think if you listen in entirety, there's some empathy there at the end. Oh, yeah. And the whole situation, which we certainly have, but with that being said, made a football point. Not ready. Just want to let everybody know. Right. No names alluded to a very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very viral news story. Tied it in Use the Ledger a couple times. A lot of times we learned our lesson because we've danced this dance before. Yeah.

[Tone Diggs]

It's not our.

[Pat McAfee]

With a Mississippi person. We've done this entire thing before, so. I mean, we hate that the situation happened, but it did. And it's like, we didn't create that. No, it's like we just. We.

[Tone Diggs]

We report the news.

[Pat McAfee]

Nonetheless. He's beloved by his team. You watch the Jackson Dart is beloved by his team down There in Ole Miss, it's like all these guys seem like guys you want to get in your building too, which would be great for an organization. And I'm excited to see if this draft class has a lot more winners than it does losers because there's next to no hype. But the reason that there is no hype is maybe because these guys are just boring team guys. Like maybe, you know, maybe these guys are just boring team guys in this entirety.

[Tone Diggs]

I think a lot of it has to do with, you know, the quarterback class last year was just so good too. And they don't think those guys, like just by watching tape or whatever are those guys yet. So it's like, hey, is it down here? So they don't have the hype or whatever. But you know, when we were talking about the Raiders, you know, they knew do have a new OC and you talk about Will Howard, like, could that be. It doesn't feel like he's going to go number eight over there, but it could be a second round. Yeah, I mean, you have no idea.

[Pat McAfee]

I legitimately, I mean, Bonix, from what.

[Tone Diggs]

I'm hearing, Bonix at this time last year was not a first runner.

[Pat McAfee]

Bingo. Then he puts on a show.

[Tone Diggs]

Neither was Pennix.

[Boston Connor]

Pennix wasn't either.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, Sean Payton meets with him and Sean's like, I love this guy. They start looking at the tape through like your offense's eyes with the guy.

[Tone Diggs]

Even J. Even J.J. last year. And he was the guy, he wasn't doing it in a parking lot, he was doing it in the convention center hallways or whatever. And he actually got filmed.

[Pat McAfee]

You know, everything gets filmed, by the way.

[Tone Diggs]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I mean that did not with.

[Pat McAfee]

Will there last night. Once again, because they. That's crazy to me that that's happening. But to your point. Go ahead, pal.

[Tone Diggs]

No, I was, I was just saying like because. Because of last year's class and how they performed in their first year. I think that's why the, the hype isn't there. But who says that that can't happen with all the guys this year too?

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

It's also inevitable that as we sit right now, this game of quarterback musical chairs, someone's going to get left out and someone is going to panic on draft night. I know this class, you know, even on my big board don't have a whole bunch of these quarterbacks going. Yeah, yeah, exactly. We'll see what they do on the field. But there's going to be one of these teams who's putting all their chips in either the Matt Stafford or the Aaron Rodgers basket. And that doesn't work out for them. So they might be inclined to, you know, trade back up in the first round or do something like that. And who's to say that we don't see, you know, four guys, four quarterbacks get drafted in the first round.

[Boston Connor]

Well, that's what's crazy. Like, we're talking about if Stafford's here, they're all over the place if he stays in la. Right. Okay, so now all of a sudden, none of those top 10 teams that were looking at Stafford, they're not getting them, let's say, because of the Aaron Rodgers situation. Who knows if teams want to do that? Because at least with Stafford, you know, you got four or five years. You know, he's still playing at a playoff level. Rodgers, although we think he's great, it didn't go well for the Jets. And then looking at Darnold, what if he stays in Minnesota? It's like there's so many.

[Pat McAfee]

The musical last two games with Sam.

[Boston Connor]

Darnold, they were tough and that might have hurt.

[Pat McAfee]

Isn't that crazy?

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

$5 million.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah. And it wouldn't really make sense for him to sign a massive deal in Minnesota because, you know, Koc is Koc. You know, say what you want about JJ McCarthy, if JJ McCarthy isn't great, Koc is going to make him great. Okay? No matter. No matter what. That's why you have Justin Jefferson and T.J. hawkinson and Aaron Addison, and maybe Aaron Jones comes back. Like, that situation seems set up for any quarterback. So it might only be Sam Darnold. And then all of a sudden it's like, okay, well, the Giants and Browns, they're. They're not probably going to move. They're probably going to stay pat. So do the Raiders then go get Darnold. Do the Raiders then, you know, try and move up to one? Because that's another thing with the Titans. Like, we're talking about the Titans. Like, well, they probably not going to take a quarterback. What the hell are we talking about? Okay, we all watched the Titans last year. They still need a quarterback. And this is a new GM, and we've seen it with new GMs you've talked about all the time. Like, those guys want the stamp on their own team and. Sure. Like they have, you know, this.

[Pat McAfee]

I think the Titans are praying to God that somebody really wants one. Yeah, sure, go. Because they probably want to. You talk about new team.

[Boston Connor]

Exactly. And maybe they take, you know, Abdul Carter, who is, you know, generational as we say, even though he's got a foot injury.

[Pat McAfee]

No, no one team said, or we don't know how many teams, maybe two teams said, but there's 32 teams that are testing that foot out. And he woke up the next day and I would assume another team's medical said, we assume this has been the way this way for a while.

[Tone Diggs]

Well, only the Titans GM or whatever was the guy that said. He didn't even say him. He just said a lot of people hate that generational world.

[Pat McAfee]

Hate him. Yeah, but you never know.

[Tone Diggs]

Yeah, correct.

[Pat McAfee]

Somebody could be. Is that inventory? Generational?

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Yeah. You say that.

[Pat McAfee]

I would say. Right. You think whenever he was coming out of South Dakota State, Go big, Go Blue. Go Jacks. Anybody was saying this guy's going to be generational? I don't think so. You know, you have no idea. That's the thing about the draft that we have to remember. We need to remember this. And we talk about this on draft night a lot because we have six hours to do it. It's like a lot of these guys are going to suck. Can't wait. Okay. A lot of these guys are going to suck. And a lot of people that we think are going to suck turn out to be pretty good. And a lot of people we have no opinion about come out of nowhere and are great. I mean that is just the history of the NFL. That is the reality of every single draft class. And that is also the reality of this time of year when people really win somebody over. You win over one team, you're in a good spot. Okay? In the draft you win over two teams, much better spot. Now granted, you win over three, this is just like business. Anytime you have more people interested in your product, you're going to have a run up offer. You're going to be able to do that whole thing. But all it takes is one. Atlanta Falcons of Pennix, they were the ones, they said, we love this guy. We just paid a guy. We don't care. This is somebody that we think is generational. When maybe if you didn't watch Michael Penix in college at Washington or at Indiana, you didn't think that going into the draft because he wasn't chatted about as much as Caleb and Jaden and Drake. May you get it in that entire thing. All you need is one team. Sean Paytonlove and Bo Nix. All you need is one team. And whenever you hear somebody say during draft night, well, that was a reach. No, that was one team that liked somebody a lot more than everybody else and we'll assume that they have a vision for said person and have them make or make them successful.

[Boston Connor]

Oh, and some of those guys, I feel like we talk about a bunch their entire career. Like they, we almost get bored with them. Like Brock Bowers when he was a freshman at Georgia. It was like, oh, this guy, this guy is generational. He's going to go. And then he doesn't even go in the top 10. You know, it's like, guys, obviously you go back, you redraft. He's a top three pick. He was one of the best players in the NFL. I think he was all pro this year. Was he, was he one of the first, second teams? He set the record. Yeah, like he set the all time record for rookies. And it's situations like that like with Tyler Warren, you think about, it's like, hey, this guy was so good at football, but he's not going to do the combine. He's going to do his pro day and he's doing meetings and stuff. But like, who says he doesn't drop? And then in October it's like, how is Tyler Warren, Warren not a top five pick? Why wasn't he talked about as one of the best dudes? And then, you know, you mentioned too, some of these guys that are gonna suck, they'll end up like Makai Becton where they'll be talked about and ridiculed for so long and then they'll go to a situation like Philly and be, you know, a future all time guard. One of the highest paid guys could.

[Pat McAfee]

End up like that. The guys that end up sucking and just not finding the right home or just actually sucking at football. We don't talk about them ever. No, but Makai, finding a new home, I mean, it's happening with Sam, it's happening, it's happening with all these guys. But other positions, it very much happens as well. I mean, our guy D, bud, our guy dbut gets drafted third round, second round, second round, Top of the second round. Yeah, top of the second round. First late. You know, whenever his pick is traded on draft night, they go. It's basically like an end of first. You know, like if you were about to do this conversation, goes to New England. Okay. Goes Carolina. Okay. Comes in Indianapolis, perfect setup and he's at the perfect time of his career. So there are some people that maybe need to find their spot and go off. It's like. But there's going to be guys that we don't expect to be hall of Famers. Hall of Famers out here.

[Boston Connor]

Oh, yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

And you talk about Tyler Warren. It's like, wasn't he there? He was there. He was their offense.

[Tone Diggs]

Yes.

[Pat McAfee]

And it's have wide receivers. I wonder why or what the convo is going to be about him. Especially with the importance of a tight end in an offense.

[Boston Connor]

Yes.

[Pat McAfee]

I mean, if you look at how important that position has become to the sport of football. Feels like the tight end should get a lot of shine. Which today, big day for that. Okay. Speaking of things that would no longer shine. The chains.

[Boston Connor]

Oh, no.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Chain gang. Chain gang is back up officially and dead.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Good.

[Pat McAfee]

Mad Mel, we're about to have a moment of silence for the chain gang.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Fuck it. Chain gang sucks. Now listen, if we're watching leatherheads, you know, if guys have leather helmets on or we're going back to the 1960s. Sure. The only thing that we heard about the chain gang in the last couple of years was when one of these guys who was overweight and probably shouldn't have been on the field, you know, not in good shape, would have like a horrific leg break. That was the only time we were talking about the chain or, you know, if it was. Here we go. Yeah, that's. I mean, what the hell is a billion dollar, multi. Billion dollar league and we're getting a chain link fence and bringing it out. Like, what the hell are we doing? Don't we have the technology where we can finally move past this?

[Pat McAfee]

Well, the strength of the chain is obviously the strength of each individual link. And every once in a while, when one link starts dosing with another link, it causes an absolute logistical nightmare on unknotting the chain. Now I do believe it has lost a lot of its luster since this man retired Gene's territory. Yinzer Paisani. Say, listen, that tip of the ball is passed. That's a first down. I'm sorry about it. In the grin of walking away from this, he thought to himself, I'm a genius. Nobody else has done this. Everybody's wondering, defense, offense. I don't know. I don't know, Jinga. I know.

[Tone Diggs]

Look at his face.

[Pat McAfee]

I know. Hey, Jack, you're gonna be coaching in Europe, pal. A little bit of a dust up here. First time J.C. garrett goes. Hey, I bout it, I bout it. Now the issue with it all is. And that's a tush push play there that is also being discussed obviously at the entirety, but a little bit deeper into this tush push play is the spotting of the ball. Okay, how are they going to spot the ball? Well, they said that they're going to use some sensor now. Okay, so Cheng Gang's out. They're going to use some sensor. This was pitched last year. Hawkeye techno. I assume this was pitched a decade ago. Sure. But last year, it was actually put onto the field of play. And the only reason why we know this is because I've been an avid. Hey, this can't be. In 2024, how this goes. We can't be just judging things off of us. We can. We can send a FaceTime. You could send a thing up to a satellite, and then it can just send over somewhere, and we can just see people in 8k somehow. Okay. I have no idea how that we can create. AI can think anything, and we can't figure out where the hell the ball is without bringing this thing out. I respect and appreciate it as a backup if we. If we need. Without a doubt, if there's a malfunction in something. But there has to be some sort of technology that is able to actually document not only first downs, touchdowns. You talk about everything. Punts, even. It helps out. Like, where'd the ball go? Out of bounds? I mean, there's just, like, so many things. Field goals. If it's up over top of the post, where's it? I mean, so many things that if we could figure out that technology, what you would assume you could. And then the people from tennis, Hawkeye came in and said, we got you. We already got to figure it out. We need cameras down the lines. We need a camera moving out, and then we'll be able to do it. We were celebrating these people. Okay. We had McEnroe on. McEnroe from the tennis community said, oh, Hawkeye technology. Now, that adds in a whole nother element. We said, what's that? And he said, well, tennis players say that with their eyes. Best in the world. These tennis players, they look down with their eyes, and they clearly see that the ball is out of bounds. So they challenge it, which is why Hawkeye happens. And then Hawkeye goes. And then boom, hits the end of the thing, and the tennis player is like, that's not real. Like, I literally just saw it. Now, granted, heat of the motion, maybe a little bit of blur, maybe sweat drips in the eye. Maybe you miss it. Whatever the case is. Maybe Hawkeye's right. But this adds in a whole nother element of rigged conversations that are on its way that we didn't know was happening in tennis with the Hawkeye technology. But there are tennis players that are like, oh, this the league is working against me right now. The league wants this person to win. Like there's people that think Hawkeye works. Answer. So whenever Hawkeye gets the NFL, we're excited, but we are precautious.

[Tone Diggs]

Sure.

[Pat McAfee]

Then, then it debuted and it was crap, okay? Absolute crap. It was a preseason game. Detroit Lions throw what a ball, what a catch. Or just keep the clock rolling here. Second quarter, obviously Kennedy makes a great catch. They show a replay from the beginning of the Play. Now we're 35 seconds in this. Obviously 45 seconds into this thing. Everybody now, I assume commentary is chit chatting about it, but they haven't shown it on there. They're trying to figure out where the hell the ball was. Okay, Was it a first down? Was it not a first down? We got this new Hawkeye technology. The central will be able to tell us, Dan Campbell goes, Hawkeye, where are we? Because on tennis, we turn up, look at the screen. Two seconds. It's immediate. And we could have got, you know, people with 14 different eyes in chain gang out on the field to the other side. Maybe they have run a gasser. We're still waiting. It's three minutes and 16 seconds later. 3:19, all on air, first of all. And then boom. It's short. It's like, okay, I guess that's good. 3 minutes and 30 seconds. So that is longer than the changing. So if we're going to bring in this technology, all we hope is that it's more efficient because the bitching about reviews and the bitching about everything else all revolves around the game stopping and other stuff happening. So as long as this can be efficient and accurate, we're all in. And I think everybody will be all in. But they can't have that rollout week one with this whole entire situation comment. And they know that. They have to know that because they scrapped it quickly after that. Yes, they scrapped it very quickly after that.

[Boston Connor]

And that's why it does feel as though they've had to have have some sort of progression between that dog and then where they are now. Because they wouldn't just throw the chain gang out without knowing like, hey, what the product we have now is going to be quick. It's going to be much better. You're going to be able to tell it within a little 10 second period, but hopefully that the chain gang is done forever. I still think we should line up old guys so they can get obliterated.

[Pat McAfee]

By people on the field, the knees and stuff. And I, I still think we should have a job for the older folks with them and the entire thing, because some of those guys, 89 years old, they ain't got nothing. Literally. They're just coming to the chains. They're going home, and they're trying to get back to doing the change. And the change served its purpose in the NFL and in football as a whole, and we appreciate them. But just like everything, robots are coming. This man seems like a robot has an answer for everything.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Oh, yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Business, strategy, inspiration, advice, football. The general manager for the North Carolina Tar Heels, Michael Lombardi.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah. Look at those shoes. They're shimmering.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Felix Mutual Lambo. Appreciate it. Thank you.

[Pat McAfee]

Wow, you did see the plum suit that was attacked by Tyrese.

[Michael Lombardi]

I loved it. Who attacked it?

[Pat McAfee]

Tyrese Halliburton. It's his birthday today. Happy. Oh, actually, his birthday is tomorrow. It's leap day. I appreciate you clapping for him because he does deserve it. He's a leap day baby.

[Michael Lombardi]

So it's only four years, weirdo.

[Pat McAfee]

So happy birthday, Tyrese. That guy doesn't have as many birthdays as everybody else. Kind of a bummer. But happy birthday to the new North Carolina Tar Heels. You have a brand new general manager head coach operation in the football department. How are you doing?

[Michael Lombardi]

We're great. We're doing good. You know, we're just. We've been a dead period. So we had a chance to get the players in, work out, do all that stuff. So it's been great. Yeah. We set up our recruiting for 2006, which is. Everybody's ahead of it, and it's been great. You got to watch a lot of high school tapes. Seen some really cool high school stadiums. Seen some bad high school stadiums. I mean, Texas, I gotta tell you, Texas high school football. Oh, man, those stadiums are incredible.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah.

[Michael Lombardi]

You know, we need a little bit more of those in some other cities, but it's been great.

[Pat McAfee]

I think the game will continue to do that in other places. And there's a lot of great high school cool states, obviously. Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida, Texas, California, Georgia. Louisiana, I think, has some great. South Carolina. And I'm sure there's other states that I am missing. Montana's got some guys. Montana's got some guys.

[Michael Lombardi]

I watched a kid from Idaho the other day. It was great. Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

So you're loving it? You loving the process?

[Michael Lombardi]

I absolutely love it. It's great. You know, everybody says, well, how you dealing with it? It's like, it's different than pro football in the sense that, you know, you have to work three boards. You got 07, you got 28. You got 26. You're dealing with that, the Portal. But it's a lot of fun. And, you know, it's the same thing. I mean, when I worked at as a gm, you know, everybody wanted more money, everybody lied. It's the same two things. Everybody wants more money and everybody lies.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, good. Let's talk about that process of you being an NFL general manager. But you're back at the combat. I know you just landed. Thank you for making time. Will you be able to stick around with us after the break, too?

[Michael Lombardi]

Sure.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, sweet. So you'll be able to talk to us next hour. We'll get a little bit more Lombardi Convale. But you come to the combine, is it glory days feel thinking about the NFL stuff or what are you here doing right now specifically?

[Michael Lombardi]

Well, there's so many people here, there's so many contacts that, you know, from my time in the league that you want to reconnect with because you're. They're going to have players too, you know, in terms of whether what happens with the Portal. So you want to be able to really. It's about the maintaining the relationships you want had with these agents that I haven't had since I was doing media. So I want to reconnect with them and everybody's here at this place. At one time. I had a bunch of fundraisers to go to this week for our North Carolina folk, and so I couldn't get here until today. But that's. That's the best thing. This is the best meeting place for everybody. I mean, there's more action happening at the hotels when I worked in the league than there was actually on the field.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, so let's talk about that a little bit more. Matt Rule said that the general manager for his team, the Nebraska, when he's with us yesterday, he said, I'm here, and he is currently meeting with the agents and stuff. And it's the same agents or NFL guys that there is for high school guys.

[Michael Lombardi]

Pretty much. You know, it's the same. It's very reminiscent of the time they may have a guy that wants to enter the portal who knows everybody's talking hypothetical situations. But you have to have a relationship with the agents to understand when you're talking to them on the telephone what you're dealing with. And a lot of these guys I have from my time in the league, but there's a lot of new agents that you don't know. And you need to kind of maintain that relationship and see if you can, because you got to Get a sense of it. It's easier to have a conversation with somebody after you've met them.

[Pat McAfee]

We need you to get introduced to Money team Ed. Money to you, Ed. He's Aaron's guy. He was the guy. Joe Shane Hard Knock's phone call. That was on the other side. Ed. It says on the captions. Okay, that is he Young lads dropping lad.

[Boston Connor]

Good beard.

[Pat McAfee]

He's good beard. Good dude. Does good business.

[Michael Lombardi]

I could tell in that call Ed wasn't going to give Joe a shot at another thing. I could tell in that call.

[Pat McAfee]

You can hear by the tone. Yeah, me too.

[Michael Lombardi]

Has also heard it too. You knew it.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, so. So let's talk about the Hard Knocks offseason. It is tweeted by Ari Miro. I do believe at my sports update. He is a grinder. Ari Mirov is an absolute grinder whenever it comes to aggregating and finding news. Per Sports Report, Bill Belichick and UNC will be featured this off season for the Hard Knocks off season. Okay, so we loved what the Giants allowed us to see. Okay. I think all of us did. We all chatted about it. There was a lot of things learned because it was our first time ever watching that entire process, and there's a lot of things said. You guys have it this year. Is that accurate? You guys got a great relationship with NFL Films. It would make sense. Sense, too, with how college ball is becoming pro ball at this exact time.

[Michael Lombardi]

I think there's a lot of conversations going on right now about that. I think we've had a lot of offers from people all over to have us come in and look at our program and kind of do the behind the scenes things. I don't think anything's yet beneficial or signed to it to make it happen.

[Tone Diggs]

Don't let Saquon go.

[Pat McAfee]

Who would it be? Yeah, don't. Don't do that. Would it be you? Would it be you negotiating that or who's making that decision?

[Michael Lombardi]

No, that would be the university. And. And we got to make, you know, when you're dealing with the university and the brand that we have at North Carolina, which is incredible, you got to make sure that everything's done right. All the T's are crossed. And obviously Bill has been talking to different people. They contacted all of us here, and Bill's been sorting it out.

[Pat McAfee]

So you're saying there's definitely a conversation happening and you guys in NFL Films know each other very, very, very, very well. I mean, that's very well documented and.

[Michael Lombardi]

It'S a tremendous place.

[Pat McAfee]

Agreed.

[Michael Lombardi]

And so. So they do an incredible job. But I don't think it's official to be where it's at the point where we can say we're going to do it. If we do do it, the idea of doing it is to let people examine what we're doing and see people take a look at the 33rd team in the NFL on how we're building this program and what we're trying to accomplish. And I think it will give an accurate portrayal. I've often said, if you're going to do hard knocks, you got to let people know you know what you're doing, because people are going to look at you and people are going to judge you and what you know. And you've got to really be able to teach a class.

[Pat McAfee]

It's a good idea, though. Recruits watching, parents watching too, all that.

[Michael Lombardi]

Yeah, we got like, Mel has to teach a class on how to scout. We got to teach a class on how this all happens. And so that's what that would be the intent. And let people know, look, you know, there's not many times that you can have the greatest coach of all time take you into a meeting.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, I agree. And if we were able to get access to your entire thing where you were building a personnel department, scouting department, Bill's doing his thing. You guys are going to high schools, recruiting. How does that go? Those conversations, we'd all be very intrigued by it. But I also think the college football, like, either transfer portal guys or high school guys or parents would obviously watch that. Like, when you come on here and, you know you're an incredible good businessman, but when you come on here and you talk, I think whenever people, the more they hear you, the more they're like, I want to go there. I met some UNC kids that were amazing carryovers from maybe the last roster or whatever, and they were at a Monday Night Raw, I think, in Charlotte. I think they were up there in Charlotte. They came in the Monday Night Raw, and I talked to him and I said, hey, you're going to be dealing with Michael Lombardi now. Bill Belichick, obviously, greatest of all time, but you're going to be with Michael Lombardi. Utilize him as a resource, okay? Like, use him as a resource. He's a person that I use as a resource. He has a wealth of information on so many things. So when you're talking about becoming a man and leaving college being a better person, like, your experiences are all, like, a weapon as well. I think, personally, for the right people, that are looking for that type of stuff.

[Michael Lombardi]

I appreciate that. But that's our job, is to take these kids from being. Everybody thinks college football is amateur. It's no longer amateur. They're all getting paid some form of compensation. And the key is to teach people how to become no longer an amateur, to become a pro. You know, that's the key when you wake up in the NFL in your first year as a rookie, you have to learn how to be a pro. And if you don't know how to do that, you get caught behind.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, I think so. And I think that's why you guys have such a head start. Like when Bill came on after and we talked to him about going back to North Carolina and we're like, you're going to hate that, aren't you? And he's like, we've done all this before. This is there. It's NFL. You guys are treating it like an NFL operation. So it'd be a great hard knocks. Whoever gets it and whoever does it, we can't wait to watch out. Your data is like gold to hackers. They're selling your passwords, bank details and private messages. McAfee helps stop them. Secure VPN keeps your online activity private. AI powered text scam detector spots phishing attempts instantly. And with award winning antivirus, you get top tier hacker protection. Plus you'll get up to $2 million in identity theft coverage, all for just $39.99 for your first year. Visit mcafee.com cancel anytime terms apply. Combine is a magical time for the NFL, for our city of Indianapolis and for stories to blossom or end in the NFL and in the football world as a whole. I'm not here alone. No, no. We got a great group of dudes live from the balcony, the lobby, the concourse here at Lucas Oil Stadium. Absolutely magnificent setup all week. We can't thank everybody enough for being a part of this. From Craig and Isaac, from the CIB of Indianapolis, the city improvement board, who are the people that work directly with the NFL? Shout out to McCarthy. Carly, Jeff, you know, had some obstacles that were certainly threat. You know, there was a lot of that from all parties, made some magic happen and then the entire crew that set everything up. And I know we've been shouting out Scott and everything like that, but whenever you talk about everybody that went into making this happen, we can't thank you all enough. I think it's been a magical few days. It's been fun to be able to catch up with all old teammates and friends and old coaches. And meet new people that obviously I've been a fan of. Wink Martindale was in here yesterday because he was watching his boys. And then I got the chance to meet D line coach Esposito and the entire crew there. It was like, nice to meet you guys. Nice to meet you guys. People I'd heard of but hadn't got a chance to really meet in person. I've done it here, so I'm very thankful that we've been here for the past three days, and it's been a beautiful kickoff to the off season. The toxic table looks a little different today. Okay. And please send your T's and P's to Ty Schmidt, who has missed two days in a row. I wonder if the Iowa guy has forgotten a work ethic. It's at Boston, Connor. And it's Mad Mel Kuiper. Mad Mel, I know you have high, high praise from Michael Lombardi. Joining us, the general manager of the UNC Tar Heel football team.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Without a doubt, one of the few guys who, you know, has always shown me a great deal of respect. I obviously respect him. He is my gm. I feel like he kind of got blackballed, you know, towards the end of his career in the NFL. This guy's the goat. Okay? So if, you know, you're in an NFL building and you have any ill will or malice towards this guy, you can kiss my ass as well. So that's kind of how I feel about my party. Oh, yeah, without a doubt.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay. I went to the bathroom and came back. Matt, Mel, thank you for that kind of layout of it all, and I would like to echo that sentiment. You know, I didn't know that that was potentially needed to be said, but we. We do say that. Hey, Lambo, we love you, buddy.

[Michael Lombardi]

I love you guys, too. I really appreciate everything you've done for me. It's been a blessing, really.

[Pat McAfee]

Now you help us out. Let me tell you, Lambo, about how we truly feel about you. Okay. Doing a Daily Show.

[Michael Lombardi]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Three hours. Sometimes we go four, sometimes we get two and a half, sometimes you go five. Okay? So it's like whenever you do that, lucky to do it, thankful to do it. Okay. But there's some days where, man, we should not be taking anybody's time. Like, nobody should spend their time with us today. So we try our best to, like, show respect for people who show their attention to us or enjoy their day alongside of us. We try our best, and there's some days where it's just like, there's not. This is crap like, we cannot. This is not good. And everybody's first thought is longbow and what you have done for our program. And you don't even know this. I assume on days where there is real anxiety, for me, maybe 15, not a lot of news, like 15 minutes before the show starts and in my head and body having real anxiety. Like, today's the day where people realize that they need to stop watching this program. We send a text or a call to you, and you have never said no to us. And anytime you come on anything we ask you about, could be business, could be quotes from the past, could be about war strategy, could be about football, could be about anything. You have like a phenomenal. And you're an hour eater. That is awesome. Hey, we got an hour eater in Lombardo.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Biggest compliment you could pay to someone.

[Pat McAfee]

From us. So that is how we feel about you. We absolutely love you.

[Michael Lombardi]

I appreciate that. That's very nice of you. And I appreciate being on this show because it really helped, you know, my career. It sold me. Sold books, which I really appreciate. You know. You know how that goes when you're in the book business. But, yeah, it's been tremendous. I mean, I love doing this. I really do. I know Chuck wanted to go back, but I know there's part of Chuck that still likes this and still likes doing this.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, Chuck's not gonna be able to stop by, I don't think, in his new position. No one. No one over there.

[Michael Lombardi]

You enter the cone of silence when you go in there. Yes, I understand that.

[Pat McAfee]

One half of the hammer. Dah cowboys. Tone Diggs is here. And obviously Lambo knows everything about the combine. What do people need to know about what happened yesterday at the combine and what's happening today at the combine?

[Tone Diggs]

Yeah, yesterday there was a few guys, a handful of guys who. Who really stood out. Shemar Stewart being the. The first one being, you know, 65270, jumped 40 inches broad 1011 ran the 4 6. Basically the. The same numbers as Miles Garrett when he came out. Actually, there's only. There's only four guys in the history of the combine who weighed more than 260 and jumped 40 inches. It was Mario Williams, Miles Garrett, Shemar Stewart yesterday, and also Landon Jackson yesterday who also is above 260 and did the 40 inch vert yesterday. But I wanted to ask Lambo a question after that off of that. So shamar Stewart has all those numbers, has the 10 RAS grade, the RAS grade or whatever.

[Brandon Beane]

That's crazy.

[Tone Diggs]

But he only had four and a half sacks in his college career. How do you like as a gm? Do you go back? Do you obviously have to go back and be like, all right, why did that happen? Or how do you evaluate someone who is just an athletic freak but didn't necessarily have the production? He should have had to match that. He's a great player. But it's not.

[Michael Lombardi]

That's the hardest thing to do is because you have to take some of these positions that everybody thinks are all athletic positions and break them down into. Into instinctive positions. Right. To rush the passer is an instinctive position. You can't run past the guy. You've got to know when to transfer, speed, power. You've got to be able to understand how to set up the tackle. You've got to play smart. I was on the phone with, With. With a legendary NFL coach and he was talking.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, almost said the name there. They did.

[Michael Lombardi]

And he was talking to me about tuna.

[Pat McAfee]

He was. Yeah, he was talking.

[Michael Lombardi]

I don't. I didn't want to name drop, but it was on the phone with Parcells. It was just the greatest answer.

[Pat McAfee]

We know you.

[Michael Lombardi]

The greatest phone call you can get is when you see Bill Parcells calls you. It's the greatest. So, because you're going to learn something, you're going to learn something. And for me, it just makes me so happy. So he was talking to me about Jumbo Elliott and how he became a left tackle and they drafted him. Everybody said was a right tackle. So he went to Lawrence Taylor and said, hey, Lawrence, you know, I'm going to put Jumbo over at left tackle. You tell me if this guy can play. First day goes by, Lawrence doesn't say a word. Second day goes by, Lawrence grabs him and says, he's the real deal. He's tough, he's got a nasty disposition, he's got great balance, all those things. And he's smart. And you can't beat him twice. Key word, you can't beat him twice. He knows how to set up his rush. He knows how to handle somebody. And there's instinctive positions in football. The reason I tell that story is because there's instinctive. And so when you see these guys with great athletes or great 10 times, you want to say, oh, we can make them into something, but there's an element of instincts that go into this. Right. It's like a. Don't tell me about a receiver that can run fast and hasn't had any production.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah.

[Michael Lombardi]

They've got to come together. Right. You can make all the excuses in the world. Well, he didn't get the ball. He didn't know receivers. Look at A.J. brown didn't run great. Look at Deebo Samuel, didn't run great. Right. But they're great players.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, so on that note about running great, there is seemingly, and we got the secondary here today. There is certain positions that if they run a certain time, though, it's over. Right? Like corner is one of them. You can't be a 4, 6 corner, 4, 5 corner.

[Michael Lombardi]

Well, it depends on your arm length. If you're a 4, 4, 5 corner, you're a 45 corner and you've got arm length. That arm length is going to make up for that little bit of difference of lack of speed you have. How good are you at the line of scrimmage? Are you a second 20 guy or are you a first 20 guy? Can you burst for the first 20? Are you losing speed as you're running? And I think more than any position, corner's instinctive. You've got to be able to jump off of one foot at a corner. You've got to be in balance to jump to make the play on the ball in the air, and you've got to have the sense to redirect. We've seen a lot of corners that run 4, 5, 5 that play a long time in the, in the. In the NFL because they're instinctive, they understand, they can read the route, they know when to break and anticipate things. So, yeah, I think to me, you just can't.

[Pat McAfee]

You don't think like, you don't think there's like a disqualifier in the 40 for a corner position. Even in the modern day. Somebody said they're going to run Bond of Texas City might run a 4:1.

[Michael Lombardi]

I've never seen that before in my life. Yeah, man, I've never seen it before. But maybe he can do it with the training and all that. But I do think the ball in the air, okay? You got to play the ball in the air. No matter how fast you are, you've got to be in balance when the ball's in the air. It's like watching the NBA players. If they can't shoot off of one foot, they can't play. If they can't rebound off of one leg, they can't play. And so it's a little bit like defensive backs. You got to see their balance.

[Pat McAfee]

Tone, tell me about the tower. Tell us about the tight ends that are performing today and the tight ends in this particular draft class, because I think this is a good question for Lombo Mad Mel about, you know, the importance of that position. And like, we saw what Brock Bowers did last year. Why aren't any of these, you know, being chatted about? Is it because Abdul and Travis are so different? Yeah.

[Tone Diggs]

So they're talking about the tight end class being one of the deepest, you know, tight end class in a long, long time. Obviously, Tyler, Warren, Colston, Levin out of Penn State, State and Michigan, they're not going to do anything today. Arroyo out of.

[Michael Lombardi]

Because you can't live in shotgun on 4th and inches and try to hand the ball off. Right.

[Pat McAfee]

I agree.

[Michael Lombardi]

And you got. Your team has no toughness if you can't run the football. And you got to have tight ends that. Tight ends to me have always been the knight in the chessboard. They do so many different things. You need them. And so I like for when you.

[Pat McAfee]

Build, like, who's the queen?

[Michael Lombardi]

Yeah, well, the queen's the quarterback. Right.

[Boston Connor]

You know, well, who's the king?

[Michael Lombardi]

Well, the coach and gm. Exactly.

[Pat McAfee]

Because they're the last one to fall. Yeah, yeah, it's probably the coach, you know, Checkers.

[Michael Lombardi]

We were. We were doing. I've been doing an exercise. So we have our board of our 26 class of all of them. And then. Who are the top 30 players on your board? We have 225 names on our board. Who are the top 30 offense, who are the top 30 defense. And it forces you to say, how do you want to build this team? How do you want to build North Carolina's team? If we could get these 30 players, this would be great. And there's. It's a good tight end. There's a lot of good tight ends in America as there are, because the tight end position is evolving. Nobody. They're not all playing basketball now. And so it gives you so much versatility because the object of football is to substitute without substituting. That drives people crazy. So when you can have a tight end like Gronk who can go out and catch a ball at receiver, and then you have another tight end who can line up on the line. I mean, Tony Gonzalez was really good, but when he had Jason Dunn as the blocker with Tony Gonzalez as the move guy, they became a dynamic offense in Kansas City with Trent Green. And so you need those kind of guys. And the tight ends give you that versatility, which makes you so much better. You know, Brock Bowers is great. Now, if the Raiders had another blocking tight end to go with them. Now how do you match up to that so now they're really in 12, but they're really in 11 because Bowers becomes a nightmare problem for the slot receiver.

[Pat McAfee]

So you need to be in nickel, but you're in 12, but you're in 12.

[Michael Lombardi]

But they can block and they can run strong side and they can run weak side. See, everybody says they line up, want these receivers that can't block and play them as the third receiver. Well, they can't block anybody. The defense knows to not run the ball weak sides. So they know they gotta only run the ball one way.

[Tone Diggs]

Well, they took mayor the year before that. So I assume Chip is going to do something like that.

[Michael Lombardi]

He's got a great advantage. They work perfectly together. And when you have that combination like the Steelers have Friarmouth, right, they have. He's one of the few on the line wise that can threaten the seam. So now if they had another motion guy to go along with the way Arthur Smith calls defense offenses and the way they run, assuming they get a quarterback and all those things, they've got, you know, now you've got an offense that can substitute without substitute.

[Pat McAfee]

You mentioned some goats there. Tony Gonzalez, obviously Thursday Night Football. We see him now, he has highlights galore and changed the game from the tight end position. Congrats to him on everything in its entirety. Then he mentioned obviously Travis. You didn't mention Travis, but we'll talk about Travis Kelce. To your point about blocking, Travis Kelce felt obligated to get better at blocking as he got older because he thought he could be an asset to the offense in different fashion. There was a couple big time touchdowns that Patrick Mahomes scored where Travis Kelce is lead blocking and like actually up in there. I feel feel like he thinks that's a big deal. You mentioned Gronk though. Can you talk about how Gronk was just like he was a tackle and he also was a wide receiver. Watching him he was, I mean he didn't get to play as long obviously with injuries, but whenever you're that big, strong, athletic and great at football, I assume injuries are going to follow you. Like that is going to, that's how your career is going to go. And I think he probably knew that especially going in or whatever. And maybe he didn't, maybe he thought he could defy it. But just like law of averages, with the amount of hits he took, with how big he was and how he played football was like this isn't going to be a 1520, but it is going to be a like. And he was, he Was special, man. He really was.

[Michael Lombardi]

He tilts the field in his favor. You guys are probably too young to remember Mark Bavaro. Bavaro had a short career because of a knee injury. Bavaro was one of the most talented players I've ever seen. He could dominate the end of the line, he could block Lawrence Taylor rare. And then he could go down the. And catch the ball. I mean, he was remarkable. And Gronk is a lot like Bavaro was because he could play at the end of the line, but he could also run receiver routes. Now, Gronk wasn't. You had, you had Dallas.

[Pat McAfee]

Dallas another guy. I love everything about Dallas Clark, Iowa thought I do.

[Michael Lombardi]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

His toughness, his juice, his competitive smear, everything.

[Michael Lombardi]

His quickness was so good. Right where Gronk was more of an over route, outcut guy. It was a long, it was deeper routes for Gronk. Not that he couldn't catch shorter routes, but Clark was really good at winning third down routes. Gronk was good at winning down the field routes. And it was hard to cover because again, to quote the great Bill Parcells, even when he was covered, he was open.

[Tone Diggs]

Yeah, yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

And speaking of that man. Cheese. Cheese. Bring it in. Ring of honor member.

[Tone Diggs]

Oh, there he is.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

There he is.

[Pat McAfee]

Wow. Oh, yeah. Dallas Clark.

[Boston Connor]

That looks great.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, he's a ring of honor. Congratulations.

[Tone Diggs]

There's a quarterback suite.

[Pat McAfee]

The slow zoom out. Yeah, that's. That's quarterback Sweden. Dallas obviously earned that with his years of great football both at Iowa, where he was a linebacker, I believe, for a bit. And then we are right behind that particular camera right there. But the tight end position is a beautiful one if you have a great one. And Peyton Manning, obviously with Dallas did magical things and then.

[Michael Lombardi]

But you had, you had Marcus Pollard too, who could play on the line. Why?

[Pat McAfee]

Pollard was before me, so I never got a chance to watch him work. But you're 100% right. The tight end position is beautiful.

[Tone Diggs]

You had Kobe Fleener and then. What's the name?

[Pat McAfee]

Dwayne Allen.

[Michael Lombardi]

Yeah, Dwayne Allen.

[Pat McAfee]

Dwayne Allen was a tackle, right?

[Tone Diggs]

He.

[Michael Lombardi]

He won another super bowl with us in New England, you know, I mean, because he could line up and play on the line.

[Pat McAfee]

Dude, when I say great, Dwayne Allen was. I enjoyed Dwayne Allen. Same draft class. Yeah. Third and fourth round, I think, or one out of Clemson, one out of Stanford. Kobe drafted before Dwayne. And then Dwayne got there and he was just like a grown man. He put his mitts on it was just like. And that's it.

[Boston Connor]

You ever get any locker room fights?

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

I was gonna say, didn't him and Pat Anger have a little tussle in the locker?

[Pat McAfee]

I don't know what you're talking about.

[Boston Connor]

Butt naked bra. I thought that might have happened once or twice.

[Pat McAfee]

Pat Anger put an arm bar on. Yeah, it's gonna happen. That is wasn't an arm. No, it was. It might have been. Da. It was somebody. Yeah, it was Dwayne's Awesome. Kobe Fleener, though, was very much like a Go get it. I'm excited to see what these guys do. Tyler Warren was the Penn State offense as a whole. Connor has a question for you. Lambo.

[Boston Connor]

So one of the things Tone said, the depth of some of the positions in the draft, tight end, D tackle, there's a few others. Does that hurt? Some of the, you know, middle to top guys that are, you know, maybe not like a Mason Graham who everyone has in the top five, but some of those guys that might be, you know, a little higher in the tackle draft, but because there is so much depth that teams might wait to take them just because they're not nervous. And then Schefter said this on Wednesday. What. What does it mean? And I forget Pat asked someone this yesterday as well. But what does it mean when the 10th pick is very similar to the 35th pick, when you're evaluating guys?

[Michael Lombardi]

Well, so you grade every player and every player gets assigned a grade. And what Adam is saying there is there's only 10 players who are elite and everybody else is, for lack of a better term, in a cluster of players. And the reason you trade down in a draft isn't because you just want to trade down. You don't have an. You have this impulse is because you're trading to a cluster. You don't know who you're going to get, but you're trading to a cluster of grades that are all the same. So if you sit there and you don't get one of those 10 and you want to pick a defensive tackle and say you're picking 11th and I'm making this up and somebody offers you a chance to go to 23 and you still have five tackles to move down and they're all the same grade, then you make that trade. And so it's really just about the grades reflective of the board we get. So Mel does this all the time, which is very annoying, by the way, I want to say.

[Pat McAfee]

I'm sure he's going to have a question for you.

[Michael Lombardi]

Everybody when all we talk about is, this guy's a first rounder, this guy's a first rounder, this guy's more of a third rounder, that's really meaningless because the verbiage has to be attached to the player. What is the player going to do? And so what Adam's saying, there's only 10 guys that some teams think are immediate starters. The rest are potential starters. So when you put it in that category, you know, Mel will get mad because you take a potential starter at 11, and you should have taken them at 28, but they're still small potential starters.

[Pat McAfee]

You have anything to say for yourself?

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Yeah, I mean, sometimes, you know, these teams are going to be. They're going to reach, you know, I'm gonna have something to say about it. And that's why after the draft, you know, hey, listen, you may think you had a great draft in my, in my eyes, you know, I'm gonna slap a C minus on you because I gotta see, I gotta see the proof in the pudding. Lambo. I did want to ask you about something, though, something that kind of drives me nuts. And it's been happening, you know, more so in years past, guys kind of just opting out to do the on the field stuff.

[Michael Lombardi]

Yeah.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

You know, and we had Dick Casario on the other day, and he basically said, listen, you can't put too much stock in the on the field stuff anyway. It's not like a guy's going to go out there and he's going to be a fifth rounder. He's going to go through the drills and then, boom, he's a, he's a second rounder, He's a first rounder. But do you think this is a trend that we're going to see more so in the next couple of years where this is basically going to turn into interviews and medical and we're going to have more of these guys say, hey, listen, my tape's out there. You can watch what I did in college. I'm not going to do the on the field stuff. And as a gm, how much does that affect kind of your evaluation of a player?

[Michael Lombardi]

Well, you know, it's still a game of football, so you still have to watch them play. And I think that's the most important aspect. I mean, we in height in college recruiting. We don't have the combine, so we have to use basketball, we have to use track and field. We have to use other sports to kind of use as a reference to check their athleticism and to truly test how fast they are, because it's hard to see based on the level of comp. If they're really fast. But I mean, this trend has been going on for a long time. Guys opting out and we get it and the agents do a good job of coming. You come to the campus, you work the guy out. I've often said to me, and this would have to be collectively bargained is if you don't work out at the combine, then you have to come back to Indy and then you have to take another drug test to make sure that everything's clear. Because what you don't want to see is any. The guy doesn't work out at the combine, he doesn't test positive for performance enhancement drugs, he goes home for five weeks, he gets. Gets that going, and you can't test them again until June. And now all of a sudden you've been duped. If.

[Pat McAfee]

And I'm sure I didn't even think about that.

[Michael Lombardi]

If you're Mel. If you're Mel. Mel's biggest mistakes, and my biggest mistakes have been when. When guys have gotten drafted when the word steroids probably was the reason why they got drafted.

[Pat McAfee]

I don't know if nowadays it's as much. But there's certainly science that people have an era.

[Michael Lombardi]

I mean, I. Tony Bandrich, I got sent. I got sent to the library by Coach Walsh to do a report on steroids because we had no idea what steroids were.

[Pat McAfee]

What year is this about 1985.

[Michael Lombardi]

There was a defensive tackle from Boston College. I won't mention his name. Sure, we can figure it out.

[Pat McAfee]

1985 defense. See, now it's a lot more.

[Michael Lombardi]

The people suspected that he may be enhanced.

[Tone Diggs]

Sure.

[Michael Lombardi]

But we didn't even know what that word was. We didn't even understand it. You know, we had no idea. So I had to go. I literally wrote a book report on. I can still remember writing it. All the drugs. I mean, it was probably the biggest book report. I was just out of college. I didn't do anything like that in college, my whole career. So I was pretty proud of it. But, you know, we got. You get duped on it. You get duped on it. You just. You don't know.

[Pat McAfee]

What was that, that documentary, Inc. Icarus. Icarus. Have you ever seen Icarus?

[Michael Lombardi]

Yeah, I have. I've watched that.

[Pat McAfee]

You know that Russian doctor scientist piss guy was.

[Michael Lombardi]

I'll give you another one. There's a school. There's a school. And I'm not going to mention the school's name. That. That was reproducing. NFL players and for a very small school at a high rate. Right. And you as an executive in the league and all of a sudden this small school in a big state is producing a lot of guys. You're saying, wait a minute, something's going on in a gym there somewhere, right? I mean that's what you get paid to do.

[Pat McAfee]

That's hilarious.

[Michael Lombardi]

Right?

[Pat McAfee]

You, you started doing descriptors in a very small school, started producing in a small school in a big state starts producing. I thought I didn't know how many more you were going to get into there. So his guests, what school that was, I don't know. We don't hear any of that really much anymore. The performance enhancing stuff that we hear about usually is Adderall. Always. Because the NFL never says what it is though. So players are always the ones that have to self admit. That's why the guys who say like I got horny, go weed at the gas station. And I think it was tampered. I didn't know that. So I'm out for four weeks. There's guys that give like used to at least give those types of excuses. Then there's people that have tainted supplements. I took a supplement, but it wasn't on the the bottle, which is real somehow. Supplements do not can just omit some things because they're not, I don't think they're FDA regulated. So it's just like in the NFL's policy is, you know what you're putting in your body. It's like sometimes, sometimes you don't. So that excuse has one that has garnered some attention over the years, but nowadays we don't really hear about it much. Right? I don't think we hear about it much anymore.

[Michael Lombardi]

No, I think, and I think a lot of guys know that there's the European element. You can go to Europe and some of these drugs that are not FDA approved.

[Pat McAfee]

So you're saying. Yeah, wait, wait a minute. It's still happening.

[Michael Lombardi]

Yeah, well, I think, look, look, if what's at stake, and I don't think, I'm not accusing anybody of wrongdoing. What's at stake is a lot of money. I mean this cap is at what, 275 million?

[Pat McAfee]

280. 280.

[Michael Lombardi]

Right. It's a huge, there's a huge investment you have to make in your body and you know, you got to do that.

[Pat McAfee]

Ladies and gentlemen, we have some breaking news out of Los Angeles, California. Matthew Stafford, who met with the Rams this morning and was potentially going to field offers from other squads because he only has 4 million guaranteed left on his contract next year. Allegedly was asking for a good amount of money. He's staying with the Los Angeles Rams. Wow. It was a good meeting this morning. McVay and Matthew Stafford, we assume less need as well, met with Matthew this morning in their facility. Who knows what was discussed, who knows what the deal will be at this exact moment. But what appears to be a statement of Yup. From the Los Angeles Rams. Is Matthew Stafford staying in la?

[Tone Diggs]

Rapp is reporting that he ends up taking less than he would have gotten elsewhere to stay with the Rams.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, so we thought that was certainly going to be something that happens. Hometown discounts are real thing, especially at this stage of life. His family has their friend group. He already has everything kind of sorted. His resume is already in place. So to pick up uproot and head elsewhere was going to cost some money. I assume the Rams knew that, which might be why they offered him a low deal to begin with. They offer him a low deal and say, all right, if you want to go see somewhere else, and then they find out what the market is and then they're able to make what is considered a fair deal to keep him left. Is that how you view it?

[Michael Lombardi]

Yeah, I think what they. What they did was they said, look, we don't agree. Why don't you go see what your market is and come back to us? And literally, because we're not in free agency, he had to come back to him. Yeah, right. And so this wasn't the Joe shame, where Joe had, you know, really was in free agency. So, you know, then he comes back and now all of a sudden, do you move? Do I take 10 million less to stay here and I have to move? And by the time you add everything up, and I think from the Rams point of view is it gave them time to say, okay, where do we get our next quarterback from? Is it Stetson Bennett? Is it somebody else? You know, where do we go from here? And I think, look, they got the ball on the, what, the 13 yard line. They were the only game that.

[Pat McAfee]

Against the Eagles.

[Michael Lombardi]

Yeah, the only tough playoff game. Let's be clear. The only tough playoff game the Eagles had was that game. And if they don't blow two protections, you know, where they don't block Jalen Carter for some reason and some. Why, you know, he's throwing the ball.

[Pat McAfee]

In the end zone and that guy's special. He just threw two there. Puka. And obviously Cooper is going to be gone, but Sean McVay we assume his offense is going to be able to move the rock. You know, the offense too already, which is another added thing about the money going elsewhere. New offense, new system, new home, new life, new everything. New question marks, probably new gripes about things that are happening in that building. That's a lot of new, new, new, new, new. So in his eyes, he thought it was going to have to be very, very expensive. And I think he thinks he should get paid because of how he's been playing football and absolutely go ahead and do that. So I'll be excited to hear he.

[Michael Lombardi]

Stayed healthy, which is key. Right? I mean, this has been the key for Matthew is to stay healthy.

[Pat McAfee]

Durable, right?

[Michael Lombardi]

Durable. I mean, nobody throws the ball better than he does. He still can throw the hell out of the ball. And the teams that were interested in him need a quarterback.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, so now that's the domino that falls. Los Angeles Rams are sticking with Matthew Stafford. Matthew Stafford is off the board. Now. We got the Raiders, the Giants, the Steelers. We got put the draft board up. We got the number one overall team. But the Titans, who. Who's their quarterback going to be? You got the number three overall pick with the Giants. Who's their quarterback going to be? You got the number two overall pick with the Browns. They're going to draft a young quarterback. Could draft a young quarterback. Titans could draft a young quarterback. It would make sense. Giants would draft a young quarterback. Would make sense. Patriots locked in. Jags locked in. Raiders could draft a young quarterback. Jets could draft young quarterback. So now is everybody's and you go all the way through there. The Saints, Derek Carr last year of his could if they wanted to. They allegedly met with Cam Ward. Niners good. Cowboys good. Dolphins good. Colts could draft young quarterback. I mean, there is a lot of teams that could draft a quarterback. Now that Matthew Stafford is staying with the Rams, if he would have wanted any of those teams, obviously that changes the math a little bit. But a lot of teams need quarterback. How do you view that? That's the position.

[Michael Lombardi]

I'm Sam Darnold. I'm pretty happy.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah.

[Michael Lombardi]

You know, I think Sam Darnold's marketability just went up a little bit more. Even though I'm sure he has a lot of teams after him because who else. Who else are the Giant? Who else are you going to call? Who else is out there that you feel like can at least you can watch a tape and say, this guy did a hell of a job. You know, you can say, well, his jet tape wasn't good. But that was a lifetime ago. Right.

[Pat McAfee]

And speaking of jet tape, not good. Aaron Rodgers, we don't know what he's going to be doing. Is he retiring? Is he coming back and playing? Our source says have told us that he's out of the country, you know, and we'll be on, I believe, the program next week. So I assume we'll learn a little bit more there. But he's potentially in the market as well, currently. Kirk Cousins, potentially in the market yet again. You know, there is a chance that he is going to be out there. So a lot of these veteran quarterbacks.

[Michael Lombardi]

Kirk Cousins will be interested because he's going to get paid by the Falcons. So he's a little bit like the Russell Wilson situation. So that he's going to be an economic value for a team that thinks he still has something left in him.

[Pat McAfee]

All right, Longbow, we're gonna slide you a little bit to your right.

[Michael Lombardi]

Okay.

[Pat McAfee]

Joining us now, ladies and gentlemen, is a man who is a friend of the program, a sandbagging golfer, an absolute gentleman, a lad of the lads. Ladies and gentlemen, general manager of the Buffalo Beals, Brandon B. Do you know Longbow Bean.

[Boston Connor]

How you doing? Good to see you.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Good to see you.

[Brandon Beane]

Good.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

How are you?

[Tone Diggs]

Mr. Bain, how are we? Good to see you.

[Pat McAfee]

Good work, Bruce. Really good work. You'll be right here. Really good work all week, Bruce.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Crush up, Bruce.

[Pat McAfee]

That a baby, Bruce. Oh, that was from the truck. Had a baby. Good work.

[Tone Diggs]

Way to go, Bruce.

[Michael Lombardi]

Way to pitch in there.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, no. Can we get this?

[Michael Lombardi]

The more you can do, right?

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah.

[Boston Connor]

Well, I brought it over there for him.

[Brandon Beane]

Make me look good. I know it's tough.

[Pat McAfee]

No, no, no, it isn't. You're a handsome lad. Young looking lad. Not as young as that Jaguars GM.

[Boston Connor]

Did you see Jimmy Coldstones? Yeah, he's 22.

[Pat McAfee]

Jimmy. Tommy Gladstone.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah, yeah, exactly.

[Pat McAfee]

He. Listen, he could be a guy. We have no idea. So let's lead into that. The general manager world is interesting. Obviously you've been a part of it and now you are in the middle of it at the very highest level with the Buffalo Bills and you have officially drafted and developed NFL mvp. Okay. Congratulations. How much of this combine this event is attributed to whether or not you're a good general manager? Is this like the ultimate test for a general manager in your eyes? And how do you view this kind of event in looking at next season?

[Brandon Beane]

I think it's just a small piece. I mean, the number one thing here is truly the medical. You know, that's. That's why this all started. But for me, the most important thing are the interviews that we get to do at night.

[Michael Lombardi]

Just.

[Brandon Beane]

It's the first chance to kind of get to know the guys behind the helmet and who they are, how they tick. We've obviously done a lot of background. You know, we'll be. We call him Mike a lot. Ask him about his guys real soon.

[Pat McAfee]

They're good, right, Mike? Aren't they all the guys?

[Brandon Beane]

But that's part of it. You're trying to dot the I's, cross the T's. And then from here, obviously, the guys that are working out, you're kind of getting that first basis of 40s jumps, all that stuff. And then we're lining out our pro days, private workouts, and then the 30 visits. So it's just. It's one piece. The medical thing is obviously huge. You hear these stories of whether this guy's going to have to have a surgery or, you know, whatever, which can affect their draft status.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. And the medical is interesting. Do all of them have to do medical, or is it something that is. Is medical like the only. Feels like nobody skips out on the medical. Right? Or am I wrong in general?

[Brandon Beane]

I think there's been one or two, but in general, they at least do that, which is. Which is important. If you're going to come here and not do the medical, then probably shouldn't show up.

[Pat McAfee]

Well, and if you're going to pay somebody millions of dollars, you should at least know that what you're paying for is, you know, operable. So let's talk about that Abdul Carter, who's. Some people are saying generational talent. He on like a Friday or. I don't forget today. Maybe Tuesday, maybe. Maybe it was one. Whatever the case, this guy's gonna need surgery on his right foot or his foot gonna need a bolt in there. Eight weeks. Or he can power through and showcase that he's tough enough. But it came across like medical has flagged him. Then the next day it was like, actually, he's good to go. Is that as much as, like, one team flagging another team? Not. Or how does that normally go? Do you all get individual reads on people and scores on people when it comes to the medical? How does that work from behind the scenes?

[Brandon Beane]

Yeah. So there's a conglomerate of the best docs, physicians across our country, all here. And so it may be one physician from a team. It may not be the Buffalo Bills. It may be another one that flags it. These guys all look at it, they talk about it and they make recommendations to the player, you know, himself. Then the agent may get involved. The agent may have connections to a certain physician, send them out. There's going to be second on a guy like that, especially talking about a guy that's going to be, you know, potentially drafted at the top. There's gonna be a lot of opinions on it. So I personally don't have anything from our physician yet on it, but at some point, yeah, you guys are in the coming weeks.

[Tone Diggs]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

I mean, with Abdul, I'm just saying in general, this happens. You guys train up to one.

[Brandon Beane]

No, I was saying maybe it's really medically bad and he should probably fall to 30.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, yeah, you're saying. Yeah, because there is a little bit of that gamesmanship. I'm not saying you guys would do it.

[Brandon Beane]

No, we'd never.

[Pat McAfee]

But at this point, there is gamesmanship with like players and stuff. Right? I mean, that happens. We saw that with C.J. stroud. Remember, there was like a leaked one portion of a test that is just like one of like 10 scores. Found a negative one, leaked it. This guy's a dipshit, like there. And then it turns out, obviously he's not. He goes on to do what he did his rookie year. But there seems like there is stories that kind of get out there. How do you kind of dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge through that. And do you all just understand that it's happening?

[Brandon Beane]

You understand it's happening, but you've got to make sure you have the people that you trust to make those decisions. And if it's medical, you're counting on your physicians and they understand, you know, how important it is. Especially when you're talking about drafting a guy as high as Abdul Carter in this case maybe, you know, there's some guys that we may have a third round grade on and our doc may say, hey, I think this is a one contract player. Like he's got bad knee, arthritis. I think he can make it three or four years. We may say, well, we're not going to take him in the third. But if he fell to the fifth or the sixth, what's the odds of a fifth, six rounder, two contracts to make it to the second contract. So at some point take a swing. And there's been many stories of guys that have failed their physical and they've played into multiple contracts. So at some point it's worth the risk.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, I can imagine. I appreciate the gathering of the information and you also telling us all this information. Now, let's talk about your Team right now got an NFL mvp, bro. I know that's not the ultimate goal, but as a gm, as an evaluator, as a scouter, you pick this guy, we saw what he was his rookie year, but you're betting on not only the player, but the human and the competitor and everything that Josh Allen is. And then from one year to the next, we watch him just become the prototype of what people are looking for. That'd be a cool moment for you. Whenever Josh won the MVP legitimately because you felt like a believer, I assume.

[Brandon Beane]

Yeah, yeah. I mean, it's obviously he's. He had a non traditional journey, junior college, emailing all these coaches to get a scholarship, gets one offer at Wyoming. And then we know all the people that were questioning, you know, could he play quarterback at the NFL? And, you know, he, he drafted where he's drafted. He was criticized, we were criticized for doing it, so. But he never wavered. You know, he took to criticism and, you know, he's, he's always had that chip. And just doing our research, this young man, you know, he had his chip, you know, way before he. People were giving him reasons to have a chip. And he's got a chip now. As excited as he was and honored to win the mvp, he knows, and we know the ultimate goal is to bring a championship to Buffalo. And so that didn't remove any chip. Winning the mvp.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, he works his ass off. You know, I think it's pretty obvious that he works his tail off because development from one year to the next is obviously spectacular and special. Lumba, you got any questions for Bean?

[Michael Lombardi]

Well, I mean, I think to me that his ability to be accurate, Josh, everybody questioned whether that could happen. I mean, having coach work for Coach Walsh, that was like, could he ever do that? Because his arm and all that talent was amazing. And credit him and your organization for believing that he could do, because that's usually something that doesn't happen. But my question to you would be, you know, you're like a lot of teams that have been so close that kind of have to break through the threshold. You know, when you watch the super bowl, what was your reaction to what do we have to do to break through the threshold?

[Brandon Beane]

Yeah, I mean, ultimately, I don't think you want to overreact. Naturally, that game played out the way it did. Philly, you know, scored early and got a defensive touchdown and really allowed that Philly pass rush to pin their ears back. If that stays a one, store a one score game longer, maybe they're able to Stay in it. But Philly, you know, you go back to how did Tampa Bay beat them? You know, during the COVID year, it was the same thing. Their D line got, you know, got after them. And so, you know, Sean and I both believe in building up front and, you know, whether it's the O line and the D line, obviously got to have a quarterback. So that's probably where, you know, we, you know, we could always look to improve and we've tried. And listen, I've. I've got to do a better job there as well, of making sure that I give us the weapons that we need.

[Pat McAfee]

Trenches is easy, though. Pat Lombo. Yeah, that's what I'm saying.

[Michael Lombardi]

He picks and stay good. You know, it's just that the system's rigged against them, you know, and when you have good players, your system's rigged. You got to have cap problems.

[Pat McAfee]

Now, Belichick had a terrible drafting record, remember, that's what everybody said. And you're picking it like 30 right now.

[Michael Lombardi]

They're saying systems rigged right now.

[Pat McAfee]

They're saying 10 to 35 is all basically the same.

[Michael Lombardi]

It's just hard. You're not going to find an elite three technique at 31.

[Pat McAfee]

I mean, four, two, probably not going to exist. Four, three, probably not going to hard.

[Michael Lombardi]

Thing to do, especially when you're trying to get the off. I mean, Howie's sitting there and he got a defensive three technique just dropped in his lap. Right. I mean, you know, just didn't miss it. You had that right, Mel.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Without a doubt. You know, I say, hey, best player on my board. You know, you'd be an idiot not to take him. And somehow, you know, the Eagles slide up and. And get him. Brandon, I did want to ask you a question, though. Now listen, this happened last year and I wonder if your philosophy has changed at all. Obviously, you guys trade with the Chiefs, you know, and they end up getting Xavier worthy to Lombo's point.

[Pat McAfee]

He was one of those guys at that time.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Yeah, 14 was there.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah.

[Boston Connor]

Scoring the NFC title game.

[Pat McAfee]

He did.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Now, and, and everyone, obviously Connor is.

[Pat McAfee]

A Patriots fan, as you know. Exactly.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

You know, fans and people on Twitter are gonna, you know, take pot shots at you and on you and say, hey, what are we doing? We can't beat the Chiefs and we're, you know, trading with them and letting them get another guy. They got another guy who maybe we could have used. Do you take any stock into that? I mean, are you thinking at all on draft night? Hey, we, we can't, you know, These guys are calling. We can't trade with them because they're a team that we're going to see down the road in the playoffs. Does last year. Does that put a sour taste in your mouth at all? Or is that something where it's like, hey, guess what guy on Twitter, go fuck yourself. I'm the GM of this team and I know what I need to do to kind of put us in a position to win a Super Bowl.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah.

[Brandon Beane]

I mean, to me, you always what your first thing is, what is the best decision for the Buffalo Bills. And you can't worry. You don't have their draft board. They're not calling you. And you understand anytime you trade, you trade out of a pick that they could take, you know, the highest player on your board, the second, like, how far do you want to go back? And so we just felt like, you know, we moved back and then we moved back again, but we acquired a third round pick out of that and we did not have one. So we got a defensive tackle in Dwayne Carter that played a lot of meaningful snapshot. People look at it as Keon. They want to make a battle between Keon and Xavier. And what I would say is it's okay if both players turn out to be good players in the NFL. And one player can fit one team better, the other one can fit their, you know, their system better. It's we're one year in. I don't think you can ever decide whether a player is going to the hall of Fame after one season or that he stinks. And, you know, all the, you know, all the glory to Xavier Worthy. He did a nice job year one year we like Keon Coleman as well, and we're excited to get him where we did. And time will tell if I'm an idiot or not. There's other reasons I'm an idiot, but.

[Pat McAfee]

Sandbag on the golf course. Is that why you think that's a reason?

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Well, I was gonna say he kind of stuck it up their ass with Shakir anyway, so it's like, hey, guess what? This guy's good.

[Pat McAfee]

Congrats on the new deal. Okay. All right. So obviously over the last couple seasons, we've seen him come into, oh, who is this guy, too? Oh, this is a guy. And obviously you think the same thing. You paid him. Congrats on getting a deal done.

[Brandon Beane]

Yeah, no. Excited to get Khalil. He's one of those guys that has become more of a household name year three, but found him in the fifth round out of Boise A couple of seasons ago, and late in his rookie year, Josh and him really started forming a rapport. And then he actually led us his rookie year in receiving in the postseason that year. And then we come into year two for him. We still had Gabe, we had Steph, and, you know, I thought we had a real good trio with those guys, but we had a lot of confidence, and Gabe got paid. We were, you know, we were happy for Gabe. You don't want to lose him. And we made the decision we did with Steph. But a lot of that was the confidence that we had in Khalil and the guys that. That we were going to bring on board. And he did not do anything but give us more confidence. And we're excited to, you know, to be able to extend him through 29.

[Pat McAfee]

Fifth rounder to signing that. Big deal. Congratulations, Khalil. Shakir, legit. That's a big deal. Tying it back to the combine. Great hosting. Thank you. What did he show? You said fifth round. You got him. What did he show here or in the process that made you think that he could become a guy?

[Brandon Beane]

Yeah, I think he's one of those guys. He's a sneaky speed. You know, we saw him at Boise. He could play inside, could play outside. Really smart. He was at the Senior Bowl. I thought he stood out down there. The week I was down there in practice, I don't remember what he did in the game, but in practice, you could feel he's just one of those guys. He was always open. And at Boise, when he, you know, when the ball was in his cylinder, his frame, he came down with it. And he's. He's reliable, he's consistent. And so I think just what you saw on film, plus every step of the way, Senior bowl combine. And then when you interview the young man, he's just. He's got a quiet confidence. He's not going to boast and tell you how good he is. He's just going to, you know, he's a lunch pal. He fits Buffalo, you know. You know, perfectly.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, you have a great culture up there, too. Keep building. You transition now into your new roster, which you're going to have to do, especially whenever you have an NFL MVP and a very good amount of players, you're going to have to figure out your next team. Your next team. Obviously, you watched New England have to do that for a long time. 20 years. They had, like, four or five different teams there that were able to have success. The Chiefs are doing the same exact thing. You guys are Going to have to do that. Now back to the original New England Patriots fan, Boston. Connor has a question. Here we go. Yeah, yeah.

[Boston Connor]

And we'll see if you can do that. Not many can. The Chiefs even can. So, you know, no pressure. Don't worry about it. Don't. Don't hold that standard, that high because it's unsurmountable. But to the point of, you know, rebuilding the roster. Salary cap now. 279.2 million, obviously. Massive number, highest of all time. Is it a relief having that number kind of set in stone now? And you can kind of make your projections of who you guys can sign, who you can bring in, what contracts you kind of need to change, or is that already something you've been working on? And also, you know, knowing that you're paying Josh a bunch of money, does it help a lot now that we are all the way at, you know, damn near $280 million at the cap?

[Brandon Beane]

Yeah, I mean, it's. Listen, in my seat, you always want it to go up as much as it can.

[Pat McAfee]

You know, squeeze a few more in here.

[Brandon Beane]

You're looking under all these cushions for a couple of dimes and nickels. But, yes, we. We always try to error, you know, as the. At the end of the season when we're looking at the guys we want to extend or guys we're gonna have to move on from, we're kind of erring on. You know, we were in the kind of two low 270s as what we were figuring up what we're going to have to be at. So then when last week, we got the range of 277 to 281 and 5, I think. And so to get this number, it really helps.

[Pat McAfee]

We're.

[Brandon Beane]

We're obviously studying that we extended Shakir. So, you know, now is when you're having those conversations of guys on your roster that you want to extend. Can you create space by extending a guy restructuring his deal or, you know, potentially moving on? You know, last year we had, you know, as Pat was talking about, we had a year of transition.

[Pat McAfee]

Everybody we knew.

[Brandon Beane]

Yeah, I still remember you. FaceTime.

[Pat McAfee]

I mean, what are we doing?

[Brandon Beane]

You just cut every player that I've ever known with Buffalo Bills.

[Tone Diggs]

It's not fun either.

[Boston Connor]

I was.

[Brandon Beane]

I was still hurting over doing.

[Pat McAfee]

I didn't even think about you being a human. I didn't even think about you being a human. I'm just like, this guy up here has got no soul. Hey, what are we doing? You're like, yeah, I Know this is a tough day right now.

[Brandon Beane]

My wife's already yelling at me about it, so.

[Pat McAfee]

But it's not easy. That's part of the business. And if you're going to be successful, you're going to have to continue to do it. Excited to watch you take advantage of the lower end of those salaries of the 279.2, which is the rookies coming out of the draft. Tone has a question for you.

[Tone Diggs]

Yeah, Mr. Bean, question and kind of, you know, a tidbit for you because last year we were at the owners meeting, we said, hey, it's a deep wide receiver class. You should take a wide receiver. Then you did. Remember that.

[Pat McAfee]

Remember that.

[Tone Diggs]

I'll keep, keep bringing all the advice this year. Tight end, you're good there. Running back, you're probably good there. Great pick out of Kentucky last year.

[Pat McAfee]

And then, dude, he was much faster, I think than I, I thought. And he was able to. Dave.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Very good.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, he was.

[Michael Lombardi]

Bill had it the whole way.

[Pat McAfee]

You knew it.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

I thought it was a first round. So great value getting where he got.

[Tone Diggs]

And then tackle this year.

[Pat McAfee]

So.

[Michael Lombardi]

Mad Mel.

[Brandon Beane]

Mad Mel.

[Boston Connor]

Excuse me.

[Tone Diggs]

So I'm just saying probably with your pick, 30 was a 30. Probably D tackle this year. So when you're looking yesterday last night, you could probably go home today. I think you, you probably saw your guy last night. And who is it?

[Brandon Beane]

I don't know yet. We'll see. Tell me who, tell me who's there and I'll tell you.

[Pat McAfee]

Well, it's not. Who are the tackles?

[Tone Diggs]

What's his name out of Organs?

[Brandon Beane]

Oh, Harmon.

[Tone Diggs]

Derek Harmon.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, so you know him better than us.

[Tone Diggs]

Why don't you tell us?

[Brandon Beane]

I would hope I know him better than you.

[Pat McAfee]

Well, let's go. That's why you're on.

[Brandon Beane]

I know we got mad mail. So I, I respectful state.

[Pat McAfee]

I respectfully national champion.

[Tone Diggs]

Ohio State. He tackles that probably in that range.

[Pat McAfee]

Michigan. Collins. Yeah.

[Tone Diggs]

Kenneth Grant's in that area. So, you know, just a couple.

[Brandon Beane]

Just get them all down to me and I'll email you.

[Pat McAfee]

What do you think of this draft class thus far though? The depth of it to his point is in a couple different positions. Allegedly.

[Brandon Beane]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

At your position normally going to be taking need not necessarily best available at like 30. Whatever. Best. And yeah.

[Brandon Beane]

You want it to marry.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. Yeah. Obviously you want to be the best.

[Brandon Beane]

Yep.

[Pat McAfee]

If that position of need has a crop top end, can't do it. Okay. We got to go somewhere else. But if the position of need has a good top end, we're going to hit that, especially back half or at least last third of first round. Right? That's kind of my.

[Brandon Beane]

Yeah, I mean, to me, you can. You can. The best thing you can do if, if you really want to hit a need and you don't feel the values there, trade back a little bit and try and. And pick up a pick and then hit that player where. Where you got value. You just got to make sure you don't trade back too far. And if you got two guys there that you would love either one of them, but you don't like them at pick 30, maybe you like them at pick 40 to 50. If you think they'll be there, trade back, pick up a. You know, like last year, we picked up a third round, you know, with the move to get Keon. So there's, you know, there's a little analysis. You got to kind of evaluate your board.

[Pat McAfee]

You're a mover and shaker.

[Boston Connor]

Oh, yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

You are mover and shaker.

[Boston Connor]

Big time.

[Pat McAfee]

They got 10 picks this year.

[Boston Connor]

Oh, shit.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, shit.

[Boston Connor]

What the hell?

[Pat McAfee]

Hey, that's. Hey, 10 picks is a lot that's needed.

[Brandon Beane]

But we need him. We. You know, you talked about the cap paying Josh Allen. The guys we have, we extend. Shakir, you know, you have to, you know, as Michael tell you, you have to hit on these draft picks. We have to continue to find these, you know, lower cost guys. If we don't hit those, it's not a sustainable product to continue winning.

[Pat McAfee]

Lambo, what do you think is his focus of building his culture from watching his team? And then, Mr. Bean, I would like to hear your response to his analysis of the team.

[Brandon Beane]

Y'all stop calling me Mr. Bean. Y'all make me feel like I'm 100 years old.

[Pat McAfee]

No, Mr. Bean. Mr. Bean. Character. Character. It's an English character. And you need to know who that is.

[Tone Diggs]

We respect you.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Great actor.

[Michael Lombardi]

You know, Pat. Pat. I think it's exactly the way the NFL needs to work. It's two guys that have the sheriff's philosophy and they work together. You know, he just mentioned that they believe in the offense. Sean was with Andy in Philadelphia, so he was influenced there. And I think that if you're going to win in this league, you got to have two people doing the job because Sean can't scout all the players and he can't coach the team. So you have to have two people that can do the job, but they share the same philosophy. I think what happens in the league a lot is we think this collection of five or six people can make it when really it comes down to two people and then those two people educating the organization on the shared philosophy. I think where they deserve a ton of credit is the transition from being an 11 team to being more of a Buffalo team, weather wise. When they got into 12.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, yeah, because remember, your team wasn't built for Buffalo. Wasn't that the conversation a few years back?

[Brandon Beane]

You heard that, I think, and it was right, listen, I did not have a physical enough run game when the weather. And we adjusted to that and knew that, you know, we could throw it with anybody. But can we run it when the weather dictates that?

[Michael Lombardi]

I think they've done a great job. I think you've done a great job of handle on that. And as the league now is transitioning into this, you know, remember it wasn't popular to run the ball. Now all of a sudden, Philly's made it. Philly had what, 11 games where they ran the ball more than they threw it.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. I think they had 200 more rush attempts than pass attempts.

[Michael Lombardi]

Yeah. And so we're seeing it. And you know, and so I think they have a fifth running back on their team. I mean, who could stop him in the goal line? Who could stop him in the red zone? Right. So it's a problem. And I think to me that's the hard part. It's just defensively, it's hard to sit there in 30 and think you're going to get defensive linemen. You have to kind of get a couple breaks. I think the best in 15. We had a really good. We didn't win the super bowl, we lost to Denver, but we had a really good defensive front. But we kind of pieced it together. Get Hakeem Hicks for nothing. Alan Branch was on the street. We got him from Buffalo. Actually kind of got his life back in order. It was. It was a little bit of a. That line was good. We had Chandler Jones with a first round pick, but it's hard to get that when you're picking in the 30s. I'm not making excuses, but it's just you got to get lucky on some things.

[Pat McAfee]

How do you feel about what Lombardi. He just poured a massive amount of praise on it and then he kind of took a shot at what you did have at one point and then he came back into the praising. This is sandwich technique.

[Brandon Beane]

I wasn't there though, for. If he's talking about Alan Branch.

[Pat McAfee]

No, he's. No, no. He's talking about the not built for Buffalo. Oh, yeah.

[Brandon Beane]

Yeah, he was spot on, though.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. And you have to. Every single year, you have to self assess everything you guys have. Right. And that's a whole process.

[Brandon Beane]

Yeah, you gotta. I mean, why did you come up short? Was. Were you just turning the ball over? Were you. Could you not run the ball effectively? Could you not stop the run? Could you not get to the pass? So you gotta look at how you're gonna beat. I mean, we all know the AFC is a gauntlet to get through, and it's not changing anytime soon. So we always start with our division. You gotta, you know, if you don't, that's your easiest ticket in, and you're getting at least one home game. So we start with the Dolphins, jets and Patriots. But after that, you know, these same teams, you know, starting with what Kansas City's done, you gotta give them a lot of credit to be, whatever, seven or eight straight AFC championship games.

[Pat McAfee]

Yes.

[Brandon Beane]

That's remarkable.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay. And he mentioned you and McDermott rowing in the same direction. In a lot of places, that kind of starts to splinter. You know, I want the credit or I don't want the blame, or I got good players, I have bad players. There's a lot of opportunity. There isn't. I mean, those happen. That's whenever a bad franchise, a bad culture happens. You and McDermott, obviously. I got a chance to see him yesterday. He's cool looking, man, isn't he?

[Boston Connor]

Tough son of a bitch.

[Pat McAfee]

He is a tough son of a bitch. But it feels like you two rowing in the same direction. What is it about him that makes you like him so much? And what is your thoughts on him at this stage of being a head coach as opposed to maybe a few years back?

[Brandon Beane]

Yeah, I mean, Sean and I work together in Carolina. I knew who he was, you know, coming up behind Jim, Jim Johnson, you know, the late D coordinator. That was for Andy and Philly. And so he, you know, Andy moved on, made a decision. We, you know, Ron Rivera comes in, and Sean and I were together for, I think, six seasons in Carolina, Made a Super bowl against Denver same year you were talking about. And so, you know, Sean gets there and then I get there, and we both kind of, you know, when you're working together, even though you're not in the seat he's in or I'm in, you're having conversations with. With people. And so there were many times Sean and I had conversations about building a team. And just like I was telling Mike, building it up front, things like that. So I think you start with, do you Believe is your philosophy the same? Like, if your philosophy for winning is different, it's probably going to be hard to get on the same page. And then, you know, Sean's a good person. We believe in treating people well, building, you know, it's. It's team and it's. It's not about me. It's about we. What can we do? What's my role? And so I think that's how you get a shared vision and. And an alliance.

[Pat McAfee]

How hungry are you guys, man? So hungry. Got to be up there. I mean, just so good. So. I mean, just. Ha ha. And Bill's mafia is ready to expl. I mean, that was a first down.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Too, by the way.

[Pat McAfee]

Yes. Thank you.

[Brandon Beane]

Thank you.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

It was horseshit.

[Tone Diggs]

But now we got.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, we are very fast. There's a sensor in the ball now. Now there's a sensor in the ball. So everything's going to be right now going forward.

[Brandon Beane]

I'm glad we could be the test dummy again.

[Pat McAfee]

Again.

[Tone Diggs]

Change the rules.

[Pat McAfee]

All right, we're wrapping up here on espn. You guys have a fantastic weekend. Obviously, the NFL Combine will be taking place here in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana, forever. I hope and I assume and Rich Eisen and Daniel Jeremiah will be the host of that. They are great at what they do. Athletes will be doing spectacular things on this. This turf. Can't wait to talk about it all on Monday. Elimination chamber. Also tomorrow night, live from Toronto, Canada, the four nations champs. From everybody in the truck. Great work this week, boys. Great work this week. To everybody that set this whole thing up. Great work this week to the boys. Thank you so, so much. To Tai Schmidt, we miss you. To Mad Mel. Thanks for stopping by. Brandon Bean, Michael Lombardi and us will continue on YouTube, ESPN + Disney + and tick tock Live. You are the greatest people on earth for allowing us to do this for a living. Be a friend. Tell a friend something nice. It might change their life. Goodbye. Okay, now we're still live. You watch that? That was right in your face. Being. That was.

[Michael Lombardi]

He did that without a monitor.

[Brandon Beane]

That's what I said. I was looking.

[Tone Diggs]

You're.

[Michael Lombardi]

I mean, that's what you call a pro. That's what you call a pro.

[Pat McAfee]

What do you mean without a monitor? There's a monitor up there.

[Michael Lombardi]

There's a teleprompter. It wasn't like telling you what to say.

[Pat McAfee]

No, brother. Brother. Yeah, right.

[Tone Diggs]

Couldn't you imagine this show with a teleprompter?

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, it would be much. I mean, my reading comprehension. Not that Good. So I don't know if I Ty would be able to do it. He's like a speed reader. Connor reads a lot. Connor reads a lot. Tone and I, same school system. We did.

[Tone Diggs]

We had a text. Was that over break or whatever. I'd missed something in one of your tweets and you said, hey, you. Oh, it was the Super Bowl. It was a Super bowl contest with the score, whatever. And I said, reading comprehension.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, you're supposed to put. He put the score down. The exact score. 27, 13. Didn't put. Who was winning, though. And he's like a representative of the program. Now we're giving away whatever. So it's like, hey, you needed. At least people got to know. People need to know how to enter an actual submission. So I text and it did come out of nowhere. And I don't give like a group text, like, hey, this is how this is going to go. So it's on me. But yeah, we don't read that good. Before we let you go, we can't thank you enough for joining us.

[Brandon Beane]

Oh, yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

How's the golf game? You know, cuz golf seasons.

[Brandon Beane]

Yeah, it's beautiful in Buffalo right now.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. What do you do? Do you tgl it?

[Brandon Beane]

You similar. I got a simulator.

[Pat McAfee]

How is the game?

[Brandon Beane]

It's. It's all right.

[Pat McAfee]

You doing any business while you're sim?

[Brandon Beane]

I have.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, so speakerphone.

[Brandon Beane]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Listen to this drive.

[Brandon Beane]

I don't do that.

[Tone Diggs]

I stop.

[Brandon Beane]

I stop and have the conversation.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

But.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, so we're not.

[Brandon Beane]

I'm not swinging and doing it, but I got the phone in there ready to roll.

[Pat McAfee]

How often are you talking? Because I think it was a couple years back you told us, like, if you even see a tweet from pro football talks Mike Florio, who is obviously, you know. Yeah. As the name. As the name was coming out of my mouth, I thought, oh, okay, great. This is great. But anyways, hey, he had a great breakdown of that Starbucks stare down. Sure did.

[Brandon Beane]

Have you guys solved that crime yet?

[Pat McAfee]

Rap sheet came over here. Rap sheet came over here.

[Boston Connor]

He got up. He had two black eyes. Dude.

[Pat McAfee]

No, I did. No, that is not. That is not the case. We don't know if they're going to shake hands before they get out of here.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

They're not going to shake hands.

[Pat McAfee]

But rap.

[Michael Lombardi]

It's almost like Mel and Bill Tobin, the late, great Bill Tobin. I mean, that was.

[Pat McAfee]

Rest in peace Bill.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

I was going to say. Where's Bill Tobin at?

[Pat McAfee]

Okay. Rest in.

[Michael Lombardi]

Peaceful guy. Bill was a wonderful.

[Pat McAfee]

Bill is Rest in peace. That was disgusting. We love Bill Tobin.

[Michael Lombardi]

I didn't bring.

[Brandon Beane]

We, like, scratch that from the record.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Yeah, we, like, shake his hand and squash it, if you.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, absolutely. But we. I think what Rap wanted me to know, and I said, you should say this. You're an insider. He goes, it's not for me to say. He says he did not call NFL Security.

[Tone Diggs]

That's big news.

[Pat McAfee]

That's big news. I think that is kind of breaking news from a news breaker there. He said, I did not call NFL Security. Was I asked about the incident because a lot of people saw it by superiors in. Definitely. So he's saying he's not the one that was like, mommy, you know, like that is. Yeah, because Jordan was like, dad, you know, and then everybody said Rap was like mom, you know, so that Rap would like to let everybody know that he was not the one that called nfs. That is what our source says are telling us.

[Brandon Beane]

So you just gave your source away?

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, it's Ian. He told me. Right over here. Yeah.

[Brandon Beane]

Great source breaker.

[Pat McAfee]

Thank you. Thank you. You should heard it the other day. I got a text from source, says that said I'm playing next year. So that was a. That was a tough giveaway as well. But let's talk about it. You would. You would read something here. Something pops up somewhere. It's like, oh, maybe there is a little. Where there's smoke, there's fire. Maybe there is a little issue. You'll, you know, check in with the GM on the player, you know, and it doesn't necessarily mean I want to trade. It doesn't necessarily mean I want to make a deal. You're just trying to gather information. Does that happen still?

[Brandon Beane]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

How rapid is that happening right now, especially at this combine here?

[Brandon Beane]

I think it's. It's always happening because the league never stops. I mean, there's guys that you're hearing in June, you know, for whatever reason, a team drafted a player, and now they realize, man, they want to get that player on the field. They've got a contract that they could move on from. So I don't feel like it really stops until you get to, like, late June. Between there and camp, it kind of dies down. And, you know, we got our staff, you know, they're. They're on top of it more than me. They're keeping me up to date, you know, with my scouts. They're on Twitter and all that. Way more than. Or X. Whatever it's called. Way more than I am.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah.

[Brandon Beane]

But I try to track it as well as I can. But we've got a good group of people, and we'll put on text chain, hey, I heard it from an agent. I heard it on Pro football Talk. I heard it on, you know, X, whatever it is. And so then it may not just be me. It may be one of them may reach out to one of their contacts on a club and say, hey, is this true? Just so you know, whether you want to spend any time on it or not, Do I want to go watch the player and evaluate them, or I don't need to waste my time.

[Pat McAfee]

And normally, truth is told there.

[Brandon Beane]

I would say most of the time, it is now, not all the time. Sometimes the team may say at this point they're thinking about it, but they haven't kind of. You know, they're not. They're not saying yes, but they're not saying no.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay. You could also send one of your capos out, it sounds like, and say, hey, do we have any. Do we have any operation going on here? And respond back, yeah, yeah, sure, sure, sure, sure. Go ahead and waste your time on all that stuff. And then when it comes back, nah, we got nothing. How about when a player says, I am not willing to negotiate? Feels like now, granted, you be who you can afford to be. The Miles Garrett, Cleveland Brown situation, for instance, which could. I mean, no line. D line, Howie, this is Myles Garrett, allegedly not willing to negotiate with Cleveland Browns. Okay. Has asked for his trade very loudly. Obviously wants the world to know, not just Capo is fine enough.

[Tone Diggs]

I'm sure if you've heard about it.

[Pat McAfee]

Not yet. Have you heard?

[Brandon Beane]

No, I haven't heard.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay.

[Tone Diggs]

There you go.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay. So Miles Garrett is not happy.

[Brandon Beane]

Thanks, guys.

[Pat McAfee]

In his. In his message, actually, he utilized Andrew Berry's words in a bar that was like, get me out of here. Like a direct shot, seemingly in the thing. Miles Garrett, top five player and whatever you want to have conversation, obviously defensive player of the year. He said, I just want to win, man. I. I just want. I would like to be in the big games. So he wants to go to a place that's great, which obviously would suit you in the entirety. But when you hear something like that, does it scare you that the player feels like that with the team? Like, how do you go about reading one of those situations? And I'm not saying exactly, Miles, but this has happened with star players in the past, obviously.

[Brandon Beane]

Yeah. I mean, listen, when there was rumors about Steph wanting out before, you know, before we actually moved on even, you know, a year prior, Things like that. So sometimes there's some truth to it, sometimes there's no truth to it. I think you start with the play, you know, the player himself, you know, and. Or his representatives, and you just have truthful conversations about where both sides are at. And. And sometimes you may have to agree to disagree, you know, on that circumstance. And so you gotta. In this role, you have to do what's best for your club. And, you know, is that. You know, is it time to break it off now? Is it? Is it? You know what? We're going to do it for another year like we did Steph, and break it off later. So I think, you know, that situation. I don't. You know, I couldn't tell you what the facts are other than, you know, some of the stuff you're.

[Pat McAfee]

He's had a cop out.

[Boston Connor]

Good.

[Pat McAfee]

Down in Cleveland, down on the Lake Lombardi. As we wrap up this hour, we appreciate you hanging out. Any parting words for Mr. Bean here? No.

[Michael Lombardi]

I mean, look, he's got more money than he thought he was going to have. He's got great. Got 10 draft picks. I mean, you know, last year's. Last year, everybody's O and O. So start it all over again.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. Good luck, Mr. Bean. We appreciate you, Brandon, for joining us, and congrats on all the success thus far. How old are you?

[Brandon Beane]

48.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, you look so young. Yeah, you look younger.

[Boston Connor]

Not as young as Gladstone.

[Brandon Beane]

Well, that's what I was going to tell you. Gladstone. Let's. Let's look at him in four years. I didn't have. When I did my press conference. I didn't have gray hair when I was 40.

[Pat McAfee]

Do you guys have a group text gentleman? You'd have to reach out to Gladstone. Yeah, we.

[Brandon Beane]

We do. I have not connected with him yet, but, yeah, we'll. We'll. We'll make sure to do that because.

[Pat McAfee]

That'S like a business. Like, that's natural. You have to have.

[Tone Diggs]

You only use a Snapchat. You have to Snapchat.

[Boston Connor]

Hey, Pip Squeak.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Yeah, you guys got to give him a swirly in the bathroom here. Kind of duct him.

[Pat McAfee]

All right. Welcome to the show, brother Lambo. Thanks for hanging out.

[Michael Lombardi]

Thanks, guys. I appreciate being here. Good luck.

[Pat McAfee]

Thank you so much. You have to get up and leave. We're going to throw to a break, Lambo. We're going to throw to a break. You, too. Mr. Bean only been gone a month.

[Tone Diggs]

He forgot. Forgot how?

[Pat McAfee]

Tv. Yeah, it's got to do TV anymore. He's a general manager. Hey, there's gonna be a lot of players coming out of unc.

[Brandon Beane]

Let's go. Let's go. So I'm. I'm in. I'm in for that.

[Michael Lombardi]

Chapel Hill's a nice place to visit.

[Brandon Beane]

I'll be down there. I'm a north. I'm a North Carolina born guy.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, yeah.

[Michael Lombardi]

Plus, yeah, great golf course.

[Boston Connor]

Duke guy, though.

[Pat McAfee]

Great golf course.

[Tone Diggs]

Not a dude guy.

[Pat McAfee]

Don't start.

[Tone Diggs]

That's what I heard.

[Pat McAfee]

That's what I heard.

[Tone Diggs]

Don't start.

[Pat McAfee]

And you saw in Bill's. You saw him. Bill's contract, that was publicly. Because it was a state Done contract. He's a member down at that country club. Remember? He's got the country club.

[Brandon Beane]

Which country club?

[Pat McAfee]

What is it? Down there.

[Michael Lombardi]

It's called Chapel Hill Country Club. It's beautiful. It's right there. It's right next to the campus. And they have one on campus. I mean it's North Carolina is. You know, they've got so many great. Last night we were at Quail Hollow, which is going to host the PGA there.

[Brandon Beane]

Good track. Great track.

[Pat McAfee]

You see what he's doing right now?

[Brandon Beane]

And it's on my simulator.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, how do you play it? Do you play pretty well?

[Boston Connor]

I've played it.

[Brandon Beane]

Yeah.

[Tone Diggs]

Remember he. They PJ last time it was up in Buffalo or New York or whatever. And he lied about.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, he lied about your scoring.

[Brandon Beane]

I did not.

[Boston Connor]

It is 78.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. He said, yeah, normally in the 90s.

[Brandon Beane]

Or whatever, I played my ass off.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

75.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. So you're saying we should be proud. You're saying like, hey, no, I got lucky. I had the round of my life on the biggest stage here.

[Brandon Beane]

Yeah, I got lucky.

[Pat McAfee]

And then there was a little bit of on the scorecard, wasn't there there.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

If I were Stan Orlovski.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, yeah, there you go. All right, let's get.

[Brandon Beane]

He's not even here to defend himself.

[Michael Lombardi]

He doesn't have to be here to defend himself.

[Pat McAfee]

Wait a minute, wait a minute. Hey, here, rap sheet, will you come over here, please? Oh, rap sheet.

[Brandon Beane]

Hey, Ian, he's breaking news on you that he. He already gave you up as the source, though.

[Pat McAfee]

Hey, what? I didn't give you up. I said my source says. Said that I did not call NFL security. Can you. Yeah, that. That in my source was talking about your situation is all I said. I mean, I think you have good source says in this situation. How would I. How would I do that? Okay, what number my boss. I mean, 911 does answer. Get the cops down here.

[Brandon Beane]

Hey, the Makeup's good though, to cover up the shiner.

[Michael Lombardi]

Yeah, messed up.

[Pat McAfee]

Not long, but messed up. Hey, how's the week going for you, Rep? It's been a week.

[Tone Diggs]

What's Stafford getting paid?

[Pat McAfee]

Probably similar to last year. Last year he got 40. Should be about similar to that. Okay. Done yet. But it's what I heard he took less. You reported that. What does that mean? How much less? So my understanding is like Giants and Raiders, you know, he was allowed to his age, was allowed to talk to him. Would have been more higher 40s, maybe up to 50. And wasn't going to be that for the Rams. But if you're Stafford, it's like you can win there. It's home, actually. Home. So I think it made sense. All right, we appreciate your rapture. Great work this week. All right, we'll see this. Oh, he has no make. That was a shot of you saying.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

That'S how I look.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, I woke up like this, Bean. Okay. I had some coffee from oh, Dunkin Donuts. Oh, my God. All right, we appreciate you.

[Brandon Beane]

He's trying to crash the stocks right now, buddy.

[Pat McAfee]

He's. Once he like realized like, wait a second. Yeah, I don't drink Starbucks anymore. He's really been. He's really been going. I hope they shake hands obviously, because the combine is a great place we get a chance to chat with great friends like you two. Thank you for stopping by.

[Michael Lombardi]

Combine.

[Pat McAfee]

Hey, that was good work there. Wow, that was good work there, Scott. You should be proud of your work.

[Boston Connor]

Unreal.

[Pat McAfee]

Louisiana.

[Tone Diggs]

What an artist.

[Pat McAfee]

Obviously. Yeah, he did. He was seeing the field a little bit differently today than he did yesterday. Last night he was dreaming like queens gambit and he saw a couple different moves around the race cars and showcasing the super bowl champions on the wall. This Louisiana bayou boy has absolutely crushed for us. And not just me, but the talks to table at Boston Conner and Mad Mel Kuiper and one half of the hammer done Cowboys Ton Diggs and all the boys, boys in the truck wanted to make sure that he felt at home. So we actually ordered. Scott, we got you some gator box, some gator nuggets, a little bit of gator nuggets. And I don't know if we have a camera on or not, but Bruce, Bruce has. Go ahead, Bruce. Go ahead and hand him over the guy. Scott, tell us what we think. It's Gaida and some of that Indiana. Yeah, we killed that guy to right down the road here. So I hope you enjoy it. We appreciate your work. You have been fantastic for Us, brother. Okay. Cheers to you, Scott.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Who's making gator in Indiana?

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, to be clear, I'm not 100% sure. I thought of the idea yesterday and me and Z chatted about it and Z said, I can get gator bot to you by 2:30. And I said, z, you know what, you go ahead and run with it. I don't know where he got it, I don't know how he got it, but I'm appreciative of you. That's bayou fresh. That is bayou fresh.

[Boston Connor]

I bet that gator doesn't taste like Governor Jeff Lyndry's gator.

[Pat McAfee]

Well, Governor Jeff Liandry has the best gator. Yeah. See?

[Tone Diggs]

Still waiting on it.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. When's that arrive? I think we're going to have to go to him potentially. But thank you, Scott. You've made our show better. We appreciate it. And you saved your best for last there. I mean, you saved your best for last, which is obviously a thrill. We have a couple, you know, programming notes here. Big news. Fresh out of a meeting with Matthew Stafford that resulted in Matthew Stafford remaining with the Los Angeles Rams. Sean McVeigh, head coach of the Rams, will join us on Monday at 12:15. Hell yeah. Sean McVay will be joining us. Shout out to Artemis, the PR guy over there, piecing this together. Very nice. To artists. I'm sorry, not Artemis. Jeez.

[Boston Connor]

Cool.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, Artemis would be. That's a superhero name, which is what he did to make this happen. But artists for making this take place. And Sean McVeigh, we can't wait to chat with you, you know. Oh, yeah, Coach, thank you for the honor of joining us on Monday. I can't wait for that conversation.

[Tone Diggs]

First time?

[Pat McAfee]

I think so, yeah. This will be our first time talking to him. We've learned a lot about him from afar, though. We've obviously watched all his mic'd ups. We've seen him. He was on the microphone for the Super Bowl. Crushed it. Absolutely crushed it. That's why whenever they. You hear Amazon's offering him 20 million a year or 30 million a year to call games, it's like, oh, this could potentially be the next voice of football if he wanted to. Madden, John, that is, had a very early start as a head coach for the Raiders. Wins a bunch, retires at a very young age, goes into tv, becomes the John Madden. Not that he wasn't an incredible coach. He was. He won a lot, but it was in a short time period. He goes to TV, takes over, feels like Sean McVay potentially on the same track if he wanted. But every year he turns it down and he says, I'm a football guy. I'm a football guy. Gruden. Same exact thing. Congrats on getting your name back up. Hell, yeah. In the ring of honor in Tampa. But with that being said, Sean McVay on Monday is a big deal. How'd they get the deal done? Mad Mel? How'd they get the deal done? How'd they get Matt to stay out there?

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Well, I think, you know, you look at it, and it's kind of one of those things where at Matthew Stafford's age, obviously money is a big part of it, but he's made a lot of money. I mean, we all have talked about this. Pat, you've moved a couple times in, you know, the last couple years. Moving is the worst fucking thing ever. It sucks, okay? He doesn't want to move his family. He's got kids. He doesn't want to move them from one place to another. And he's at the end of his career, okay? He wants to be in a place where he can win a Super Bowl. We talked about it. The Rams were right there. They pushed the Eagles to the brink. No one else in the playoffs did. If they win that game, they're playing at home in the NFC Championship, and who knows, they might be super bowl champions. You could make that argument.

[Pat McAfee]

Sure.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Going to Vegas, they got a new everything, you know, Sin City. That be great. Are the Las Vegas Raiders going to win a Super bowl next year? Probably not. Are you going to go play for the New York Giants? Are they going to win a Super bowl next year?

[Tone Diggs]

No.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

You know, if you go to the Giants, you're. You're hoping, hey, maybe we'll win five games this year. I don't think that's. Matthew Stafford's done that, okay? He played with the Lions, but they sucked. He doesn't want to do that again. He's in a pretty good spot in, you know, in la, so I think it all kind of made sense, you know, hey, I'll go out there, I'll let people kind of smooch my nutsack.

[Pat McAfee]

And. And they did a little bit of that, didn't they?

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Exactly. They did that a little bit.

[Tone Diggs]

But everybody likes that every once in a while.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Everybody likes that. At the end of the day, I'm gonna stay in LA with my family. My wife's a superstar here as well with her podcast. My kids are comfortable in school, and I'm gonna go hunt another Super Bowl.

[Pat McAfee]

Sean McVeigh how about him saying it was nice to feel wanted though because the Rams trade from Detroit took place allegedly in a resort down in Mexico over like a weekend extended stay. So didn't get necessarily to hear from the entire league on if they would how much they would pay a Matthew Stafford at this age. Allegedly there was 90 to $100 million offers out there. I don't know how many of that is ever going to get solidified or firmed up in the public knowledge. But allegedly the Giants were offering nine figures at this stage to get Matthew Stafford in there into the day ball offense. Now with the Matthew Stafford quarterback domino falling and by falling, I mean staying put at home. Now all the other veteran quarterbacks are in convers, including Aaron Rodgers. Adam Schefter has tweeted that now that Matthew Stafford will stay with the Los Angeles Rams, the New York Giants are investigating all veteran quarterback options, including Aaron Rodgers, per sources. So he doesn't just have a source, he has sources. Numerous people talking about that he's at the combine. A lot of people at the combine. It's like, yeah, we will certainly investigate whether or not he can keep the same house. He doesn't have to move. He actually already has this house in New Jersey. An income play for the New York Football Giants. It'll be a different experience over here than it was for the New York jets. And I assume he's not the only one. They're also going to be peeking at Sam Darnold and others as the veteran quarterback market is now a little bit more wide open with Stafford State.

[Tone Diggs]

There's also some buzz about Russ Wilson going to the New York Giants and I think that's, you know, it's, it's not too far fetched because if you guys remember, I remember because I'm a Steelers fan. He left the New York Giants facility and flew to the Pittsburgh Steelers facility last year and then he never left the facility and became a Pittsburgh Steeler. So they had interest, they had a lot of interest in Russ last year, the New York Giants did. So it wouldn't be far fetched to think that they would be potentially interested in him again this year if it's not.

[Pat McAfee]

Aaron, what are your thoughts?

[Boston Connor]

I think the only difference between the jets and the Giants is the colors. So I don't know if Rogers wants to do that.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, but red, white and blue.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah, fantastic colors. One of the best schemes out there when it comes to colors. But I think that would probably sting for Rogers. I think no matter what all the teams that were maybe Possibly drafting the quarterback, depending on, you know, Stafford are still going to now be in the quarterback market. You know, if, if we're looking at Cleveland and we're looking at the Giant when it comes to the draft. Cleveland, Cleveland, the Giants, the Raiders, you know, impending Sam Darnold, you know, if Rogers or Cousins or Russell goes to any of those three teams, I think those three teams all still are thinking like, hey, we still need a long term option, especially when it comes to Aaron. Aaron's, you know, going to be 42 or if, if he's not already. That's not a.

[Pat McAfee]

If he wants to play. I think that's something that does get forgotten.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Aaron Rodgers could certainly decide to retire. That is not something. It's Aaron Rodgers football. Yeah.

[Boston Connor]

Before the darkness.

[Pat McAfee]

He's 90, 80% or something like that.

[Boston Connor]

Like 90, 10, 80, 20. Yeah. So it's not as if that is like something that he has never thought about. He was going to do it with the packers before that situation played out. How it played out.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. And honestly, you know, us reading the Aaron Rodgers situation just as people that have been very lucky to talk to him weekly throughout the last five seasons and there's been a lot that has happened and then obviously getting a chance to learn about the human, win the football, everything about him. I don't just like the text I got from my source about the tight end Travis Kelsey in Kansas City, it's like his last sentence was, I can't go out like that, you know, And I know there's a lot of people that chase the dragon at the end of their careers, but like, there's no way Aaron lets that be the final taste in his mouth about NFL in my eyes. I don't think, you know, because the end of that season he starts spinning it, you know, and obviously he's back from an Achilles. He starts moving. That team starts playing much better. That team starts playing what everybody thought they were going to play like now, obviously. Way too little, way too late. We're not saying that's not the case, but like those last couple games, it's just like when you go golfing, you know, it's just like when you go golfing, you're done with golf. And then hole 17, hole 18, somehow you hit one and it's like a flop shot like Phil Mickelson and it goes in and it's like, Yeah, I shot 102 today, but we'll play tomorrow if I do that one every single. I'm not saying he's 102 golfer. I'm just saying at the end, whenever you still, you, you, I believe, want to prove to everybody. Yeah, I still got it. I know I still got it. And I think there's a very, in my eyes. And this is not from him. I have not asked him. We will talk to him next week. We certainly will. I mean, that is certainly a question that'll be on the. But, like, from a judgment standpoint, it's like, I think he's gonna, I think he's playing football again. I, I think there is. Personally, he has not said that. I think AJ Would assume that he's going to continue to play football because he is. But the end of the season, you think AJ Thinks he's out?

[Boston Connor]

No, no, I don't think that. No, No. I, I, I, I, I think you're right.

[Pat McAfee]

I, I think I legitimately think that is the case. But there is a chance he retires, though, and, like, literally just disappears into a jungle somewhere or into a house or maybe he opens a book club or a bookstore. I mean, there's like, so many different options with Aaron Rodgers. I, I believe that they're all being kind of dove into at this point. And who would blame him this deep into his career, A Hall of Fame career already?

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Yeah, No, I mean, I think he still wants to play. He doesn't want to go out like that. For his sake, I hope he has more options than going to the Giants. I do not want to see him.

[Tone Diggs]

I was not thinking, where's he gonna go and win? Like, who has openings?

[Pat McAfee]

Minnesota.

[Tone Diggs]

Yes. That's the only one they don't want.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Jets and, and we'll see.

[Pat McAfee]

I mean, if they want jj.

[Tone Diggs]

Yes. If they, Sorry. If they don't want to make, if they don't want to start JJ's, like, quarterback career this year, I mean, obviously.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

You want to win a Super bowl, but I also think there's a difference between going somewhere and winning nine games and getting in the playoffs and, you know, then we'll see. As opposed to the Giants just have so many holes and it doesn't matter how. I don't think Rogers, at 32, in the peak of his powers with this current roster that the Giants have, I don't think he's taking him to the Super Bowl. So does he want to do the same song and dance in New York with the media? You know, I just, for his sake, loving the guy, I do not want to. I'd rather see him go play for the Raiders because he's closer to home and who knows? You know, they win nine games. That. That'd be unbelievable.

[Pat McAfee]

Aaron in Vegas. Imagine that desert house he would have out there.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

He's so sick.

[Pat McAfee]

Anderson's beauty.

[Tone Diggs]

That feels like, Sam, Sam's gonna be a Raider. But then I'm thinking, like, could Aaron go to 10? Like, would Tennessee make sense?

[Pat McAfee]

He has raw land out there. A lot of people have raw land in Nashville, Tennessee. We have learned strictly because of the reports of Aaron Rodgers having raw land in Nashville, Tennessee, which he certainly does, we assume, unless the real estate portfolio has changed in a matter of a couple years.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

I think the coach matters in that situation though, too, because that's why the McVeigh thing made sense, because it's like he'll go with a guy he respects. I don't know if he wants to.

[Tone Diggs]

He loves Tomlin.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

I'm not. And I'm not saying anything about Callahan. I think, see, like the Steelers at this point, it's like I. If there's anywhere he goes, I hope he's a Steeler, because you go to Tennessee, not only are they gonna fucking.

[Pat McAfee]

Suck, so you know what the Pittsburgh Steelers are putting down, that'd be awesome.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Because he respects Tomlin.

[Pat McAfee]

But Tennessee, you don't like as much.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

I just don't think they're gonna be any good. I mean, that division stinks, you know, better than anybody. You know that division absolutely stick worse.

[Pat McAfee]

You're talking about the AMC sound.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Yeah, Big Gun's awful, but, you know, it's just. Does he want to go somewhere where he's got a second year head coach where it's kind of the same thing? This guy is trying to get his philosophy in there. He's trying to get the team to row in his direction. And you got a guy who's been playing quarterback for 20 plus years, the company in and say like, hey pal, zip it. We're going to do what I want to do. Okay. Like, yeah, your playbook's awesome. We're running my offense.

[Boston Connor]

And that's like the whole bad taste thing. It's like he's going to. If he has a bad taste in his mouth right now, okay, he wants to come back and he wants to play and he wants to win. Tennessee Giants, I mean, Raiders have. They got a lot of like, good hype. But I don't think we're putting the Raiders above.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah.

[Boston Connor]

Denver, Chargers or the Chiefs, obviously.

[Tone Diggs]

Obviously.

[Boston Connor]

So it's like the situation. The Steelers would be cool and the Vikings would be cool. Those are like basically the only two legitimate options. It feels like where? Those other places? Yes, they need quarterbacks, but it's like Aaron Rodgers gonna go there and like, could you imagine the Giants if it starts the same way the jets did? And then they fire Day Ball and.

[Pat McAfee]

He'S going through a situation again that'd be a nightmare. How much money is Aaron Garrett guaranteed next year? Do we know?

[Boston Connor]

Ooh, not sure.

[Pat McAfee]

So, like, everybody's talking about, Stafford's looking to make money. Stafford's looking to get paid while also being respect. Here we go. Outright release 49 million of dead cap next season for the Jets. 25 and a half million, 14 million. Okay. This is depending upon whenever they make the decision to move on, which they've already publicly said that they would. All parties have. And the ghost DM of the jets said, we didn't give him an ultimatum. We didn't tell him he can't be on the Pat McAfee Show. And Aaron's like, I'm gonna be on the Bat Mac. And he said, we're getting. We're getting a different quarterback then. And Aaron said, fine and walked out of there. That was like being talked about, reported. I was so uncomfortable. I was like, come on, this guy's career, a billion dollar industry.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Leave my name off and please, I'm in Puerto Rico.

[Pat McAfee]

Jesus Christ. Please. I'm just trying Vacation. Yeah. And then he had to come out and dress at the combine. There was no ultimatum made about anything with him to come back. They have a vision of what they want their team to look like. They will take the dead cap hit and continue to build that. Aaron, Glenn and Moses got hired over there to do that with the Jets. We assume that that was going to be the case. I think Aaron was hoping for an opportunity to make it right with jets fans and the jets organization and bring along a young quarterback. But I don't think that was. I don't think that was ever really reality. Just in my eyes. I don't even know if it was just those two or how many different coaches or GMs would go in there and it would not be the case. Now Vrabe says there's opportunity and compensation up there in New England.

[Boston Connor]

That's right.

[Pat McAfee]

With the jets being in rebuild, the Buffalo, Beals being at the top, how long before the New England Patriots are back, you know, dancing under the conference confetti? You think in your eyes, in.

[Boston Connor]

Under the super bowl confetti, which is not confetti.

[Pat McAfee]

Well, how do you describe the confetti? As a Pacer only Super bowl, you only.

[Boston Connor]

You only probably confetti for Super Bowl. So if we're talking confetti, I don't know, let's see. Because the whole thing with. And I love Drake May, I am confident he is a Hall of Famer, without a doubt.

[Pat McAfee]

But if we say him, if we.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Prove Towns like he doesn't believe him.

[Boston Connor]

If Drake May proved anything this year, he can be all worlds. But if you don't have an offensive line, it really doesn't matter if. I mean, it happened with Mahomes in the Super Bowl. Guy got killed. So when we're talking about confetti, I mean, you got. You got to fill some holes. You got. You got to be able to use that compensation to bring in the right guys. Now with Vrabel at the helm, when it comes to competing for division titles, and that's kind of what he said yesterday with Rich Eisen and what's his name, Djeremiah. He said, first and foremost, we got to win the division. And when it comes to the division, I don't think we're that far away, especially with Drake and the money we got in comparison to some of the other guys. I. I know I saw you looking over there as if I thought it was Gladstone.

[Pat McAfee]

The boys from Duval are walking by. Good luck. Good luck in the AFC south, huh? Good luck.

[Boston Connor]

I'm worried about you. I'm worried about. Not worried about this place.

[Pat McAfee]

You need to watch it. Okay. The Jags certainly have had the Colts number for a long time. Yeah.

[Boston Connor]

But I've talked to a lot of people around here. A lot of them wearing Colts Locos, let's just say.

[Pat McAfee]

All right. Okay.

[Boston Connor]

A big pile of.

[Pat McAfee]

No, that is not true.

[Boston Connor]

A year out from being the Titans.

[Pat McAfee]

I actually got a chance to shake Chris Ballard's hand over there earlier. That was a good moment for me. I. I don't. I assume for him as well.

[Boston Connor]

Is he suiting up this year?

[Pat McAfee]

Look like. He looked like. He.

[Tone Diggs]

Beard looks awesome, right?

[Pat McAfee]

Beard looks good. He cut his hair, obviously. Said, I'm not cutting it till we win a Super Bowl. And then he realized I'm an adult, you know, like I got to.

[Tone Diggs]

Oh, is that what he.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Jesus Christ.

[Tone Diggs]

In a couple years, he realized he's not winning the Super Bowl.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, not last year. Yeah, he wasn't able to do it last year. Competition, you never know. Quarterback position. Quarterback comes along either. Anthony Richardson learns how to be a pro and plays football well. And then we're off and running Sweep shows up day to day, does everything required to be a professional quarterback. An NFL quarterback also doesn't tap out when he's tired. But you won't be tired if you do everything you're supposed to do day to day. I think the tapping out whenever you're tired is a bigger indicator than of anything else. You know, it's a big indicator, I think, personally, of a lot of things. Culture, one of them. He should not think it's okay to do that. He should want to be able to be out there with the boys no matter what happens. So you. You change the culture a little bit here in Indy. You get a couple guys in here, get a couple guys out of here, get the quarterback position. Right. Get the lot. House rocking, huh? Yeah.

[Boston Connor]

There's like 15 things that's fine. You know, it's not as if that.

[Pat McAfee]

That's what this season's all about. Yeah, that's what this season's all about.

[Brandon Beane]

Everybody's.

[Tone Diggs]

Oh, no, we just heard it.

[Boston Connor]

Bingo.

[Pat McAfee]

That's what Lombardi said.

[Boston Connor]

That's the thing about the Patriots, man. Better yet yesterday or better today than.

[Pat McAfee]

We were yesterday and tomorrow, what.

[Boston Connor]

We're going to be 10 times better than we were today.

[Pat McAfee]

Yesterday, I think. Yeah. Because you really.

[Boston Connor]

Tomorrow is today.

[Pat McAfee]

I'm seeing a lot of people that they just.

[Boston Connor]

Well, doppelgangers.

[Pat McAfee]

I can't see with all the lights.

[Boston Connor]

It's impossible.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Lights are very bright.

[Boston Connor]

Everybody looks like somebody, but everybody's, like.

[Pat McAfee]

Staring at us and can see us very well, you know? So I always wonder, like, if we got heat with somebody here walking by and we're literally looking in their direction going, hey, how you doing? In their head, they're like, they called me a big dumb dipshit just about two. Two weeks ago.

[Boston Connor]

Whatever. I mean, that. That's why. Who do we have on yesterday that Matt Rule. That's why I love Matt Rule so much, because when he was in Carolina, I can specifically remember calling him an absolute doofus. And he has. He probably knows. He probably doesn't care because he knows it didn't go well.

[Pat McAfee]

I think what a lot of these coaches understand is there's a lot more than we would ever realize if we're not in a building or why something isn't working, you know, so they certainly can build up some spite and anger towards people, but I think Coach Rule potentially listen to that and then listen a couple more clips. And he was like, you know what? Those guys. Those are my type of guys coming.

[Tone Diggs]

From a good, good place.

[Boston Connor]

And Frank Reich helped him.

[Pat McAfee]

Well, and I heard some stuff about that. Carolina Panthers are In a good spot from what I've heard.

[Boston Connor]

Okay.

[Pat McAfee]

Right.

[Tone Diggs]

They don't need a quarterback.

[Pat McAfee]

Got a quarterback. Tony the quarterback. Morgan the GM dog. I believe he's going to be on the program at some point in the next few weeks. I would assume. A lot of some coaches that I've known through my football journey are down there coaching. Got a chance to catch up with them. Chit chat with them. The things they're saying about the way the organization is running right now. First, maybe what they had heard about the organization from years past just being like things are real. Things are feeling on the up and up. Yeah. Things are feeling very good over here. And it all goes back to Tepper. Donating a stadium. That's.

[Tone Diggs]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Right.

[Boston Connor]

For that concert. Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

It didn't hurt. Donate. And then Bryce coming back, he gets benched. Then he comes. He watches Andy Dalton go bananas. And then he goes. Okay. Takes a breath for a bit. Doesn't have a team, literally a whole program and organization on his back. Gets to watch a pro be a pro. How he goes about doing his things and also how much he maybe trusts or understands this or looks this and then gets dropped back in. It's like good. We feel good. Then Canales, his offense is kind of understood by people. Morgan gonna get their culture, people in there.

[Boston Connor]

Hubbard. Hubbard started to go bananas towards the.

[Pat McAfee]

End of the year.

[Boston Connor]

Got an extension.

[Pat McAfee]

Canadian, man. Canadian. And then what? Then you look at the top. You look at the top. Yeah. I think Cuba's Canadian. I think.

[Michael Lombardi]

Damn right.

[Boston Connor]

Never mind then.

[Pat McAfee]

Is that right? Yes, sir. That was our Canadian gumpy. I'll be in Canadia tomorrow.

[Tone Diggs]

Maybe we should kick him out of the league then.

[Pat McAfee]

Doug Chuba. Yeah. Well, let's not get too crazy about any Canadians because we got Kid can and his little brother coming. You know, we have talked about him.

[Tone Diggs]

That's a good point.

[Pat McAfee]

Rourke.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Medical's not great.

[Pat McAfee]

I don't think One of his thumb.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Thumb and a knee too.

[Tone Diggs]

Play with.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

You play with basically like torn ACL all year. So he's tough, but a little bit older. You know, he's all up.

[Boston Connor]

Canadian.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Canadian. That doesn't help.

[Pat McAfee]

Nope. No, it helps.

[Michael Lombardi]

Probably a winner.

[Tone Diggs]

He'll probably be the number one pick in the CFL draft.

[Pat McAfee]

I heard. I heard from some. Which is a great league. Fun league. They have fun games. Like the way they go about doing it.

[Boston Connor]

That's zany.

[Pat McAfee]

It is. It is a little zany. It's a zany version of football, which we appreciate.

[Tone Diggs]

All country zany.

[Pat McAfee]

Take it easy. You Sound a little negative. Yeah. Let's talk about your tweet tone. What do you say?

[Tone Diggs]

I said Canada.

[Pat McAfee]

What? How'd that go for you? Why'd you do that? What? Way he muted it, he didn't see any of it.

[Tone Diggs]

Got a lot of Canadians yelling at air. They kind of. They tend to forget. We could send about, I don't know, 50 guys up there and take over the whole country.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay. All right. We knew that's what you were alluding to, and I don't love that at all. I would like to say that it does feel like the Canadian hockey team beating the United States of America and the four nations in Boston was like, we're staying a country. And that. That has just gotten real quiet, hasn't it? Since that game, there has been no chatter of Canada really becoming the 51st state. Like, literally, the hockey team take a.

[Boston Connor]

Slip game, they kept it.

[Pat McAfee]

Hey, so congrats to the Canadians. I would like to say they may have lost. Wayne Gretzky, though. True.

[Boston Connor]

He's taking it on the shins.

[Tone Diggs]

And he may be. Wayne's American.

[Pat McAfee]

New harbor and Wayne in the States. What happened?

[Boston Connor]

Let's just say he looked up.

[Pat McAfee]

We all know it.

[Tone Diggs]

Yeah, but Wayne's America now.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah. His leader. His leader's initials are DT And J. Okay.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

They ain't.

[Boston Connor]

They ain't jt.

[Tone Diggs]

And that's coming out of Wade's mouth.

[Boston Connor]

That's.

[Pat McAfee]

I think it's DJT is what you're saying.

[Boston Connor]

Whatever.

[Pat McAfee]

You know, it's not just jt, It's.

[Boston Connor]

D. I don't know if he's a junior. I don't know how it works.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, well, there is one of those, I think.

[Boston Connor]

Exactly. So you never know. I'm bad with initials and stuff, but sure, he. He ain't looking at the guy.

[Pat McAfee]

I didn't know Wayno did that.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Huh.

[Boston Connor]

And then also when he walked onto the ice, people weren't happy with him because he basically said, like, let's go, boys. Let's go, boys to all the Americans, and didn't really look towards the Canadian.

[Pat McAfee]

Well, that's where the mat was. You see that?

[Boston Connor]

He's walking, but you don't have to say anything. And then when you're taking that turn, you can say, like, here we go. Bush to the Canadians. And instead, he didn't. He just watch.

[Pat McAfee]

Is that true, Gumpy? That's not true at all. That.

[Boston Connor]

No, no, that's actually 1% true. Yeah, that's what happened. I'm not making that up at all.

[Pat McAfee]

I mean, he's friends with everybody in hockey.

[Tone Diggs]

He's the greatest hockey player of all time.

[Pat McAfee]

I. You guys lost wayo as a Canadian. Is that real?

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Well, they turned on him.

[Pat McAfee]

Not at all. Canada turned on him after that.

[Boston Connor]

They did.

[Pat McAfee]

Yes. We can't just be labeling everybody Canadian.

[Boston Connor]

You know, there is some differences in countries here.

[Pat McAfee]

Well, okay, so I think what you were trying to say. Stupid shit. He was saying that not everybody from Canada represents all Canadians, I think. Right. Is that what you're saying? Okay, I'll help you out here, ship painter. Okay. This guy, Grinder. Tough guy from Canada. Yeah. Great addition to our particular program. Maybe Canada's greatest expo. Well, maple syrup. Hockey's awesome. That's fine.

[Tone Diggs]

We got our own.

[Boston Connor]

I mean, their. Their leader does represent Canada, though. And we know what he.

[Pat McAfee]

No, but I heard. Yeah, I guess you're right. So I didn't think about that. Yeah, but then that. That goes the other way for us.

[Boston Connor]

Absolutely. No doubt about it.

[Pat McAfee]

We just got to make sure we think, hey, listen, we all got more in common than we think. Scare shake their.

[Tone Diggs]

It's all sticky.

[Boston Connor]

No, thanks. Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. But it tastes good. Does we add a little bit more sugar to you guys? Maple syrup made it good.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

I was gonna say it's no pearl milling. I know that.

[Pat McAfee]

We took a little bit more sauce and put it to hockey. You know, wait till you see what we do. A curling. I thought we really had it there when curling. Matty Hamilton took the gold medal from the boys.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

That was the only top people gave it. I mean, people don't give a about it anymore. You know, we won. They're kind of like, all right, you guys can have it.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, you think we just sent them back?

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Pretty much, yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

All the curling rocks retired the sport. They created lacrosse, too, right? Yes, they did love that sport. Gumpy. Canada has a lot of great things. Let's never forget it. Right, Gumps? Exactly. Like a hockey team that was more healthy than the American team for the four nations final. We were pretty banged up, too. We lost some of our top defensemen as well. It's not for good. Okay, well, it must be nice. Still have McJesus on the ice whenever. We don't got ours. Jesuses.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah. So, I mean, people. A lot of people do say Charlie McAvoy was the heart and soul was of that team. Actually, when you look at the first Canada USA game, he put McDavid in a blender. Absolutely buried him. Actually. Brady Kachuk came off the ice. He's miked up. He said, I'm following you into fucking battle today, Charles.

[Pat McAfee]

See, I think the Canadians would say you dropped into our accent while doing the conversation about America.

[Boston Connor]

That's a hockey accent. That's not a Canadian accent.

[Pat McAfee]

We got to take it all like the Canadians. Craig, great diction. Right? Great words. Bucket. Let, like.

[Boston Connor]

What are you doing, man?

[Pat McAfee]

That's what I'm saying. I'm thinking we, like. I think we're okay with Canada. I think we're okay with Canada.

[Boston Connor]

Are you doing this kiss tomorrow?

[Pat McAfee]

Yep. I'm going.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Bobby Rood's Canadian.

[Pat McAfee]

Bobby Rood is Canadian.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

So there's something.

[Boston Connor]

It's Gilbert.

[Pat McAfee]

So is Pete, who. Who founded the Canadian Destroyer. I believe Chelsea Green is Canadian United States champion.

[Tone Diggs]

Yeah. So she's gonna make a choice.

[Pat McAfee]

Pat, you're not wrong. We.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

We are fine with Canada.

[Tone Diggs]

Canada is not fine with us, though.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. They booed our national anthem. I heard that.

[Tone Diggs]

Oh, yeah, that.

[Pat McAfee]

I can't.

[Tone Diggs]

I forgot what started this whole thing.

[Boston Connor]

It was that Keanu Reeves. That's the only one. I'll go with everyone else. Thanks.

[Pat McAfee]

Bieber's. What's going. We can't talk.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Goslings. Canadian.

[Pat McAfee]

What?

[Tone Diggs]

He's got stuff going on or. No, I was thinking of the other Ryan. He's got stuff going on.

[Pat McAfee]

A lot of stuff going on with the other who is Canadian.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

He's also Canadian.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah, right. Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Canada's good, huh?

[Tone Diggs]

Where do they come to act?

[Boston Connor]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

I think everybody kind of makes movies up in Canada now.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Toronto. Toronto.

[Boston Connor]

No, actually, that's not real.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Hey, Goodwill hunting was a lot of that was filmed in Toronto.

[Boston Connor]

I don't believe that for a second.

[Pat McAfee]

Is. Yeah. Nope.

[Boston Connor]

That's not true.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Hate to say that. Just fun fact, that. Dude.

[Boston Connor]

That's not true.

[Tone Diggs]

What's your problem?

[Pat McAfee]

That's Mad Mel.

[Michael Lombardi]

That's mad Mel.

[Pat McAfee]

Ty's not here. Ty. Ty, would color.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Try to add a little context.

[Boston Connor]

That's completely wrong. That's not true.

[Pat McAfee]

That's a great movie. That's a great Boston movie.

[Boston Connor]

That's not true.

[Pat McAfee]

Filming took place between April and June 1997. Although the story set in Boston and many of the scenes were shot in the location of greater Boston area. Many of the interior films. Toronto.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah. So rooms. It's not like they were using the landscape because it stinks. What the hell?

[Pat McAfee]

No, they want it a little bit nicer. They say that's what they were saying. Google Hunter.

[Boston Connor]

That's not what they were saying.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Sorry.

[Boston Connor]

Sorry. The greatest.

[Tone Diggs]

No, mit. They weren't allowed to film at MIT because actually, Happens.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah. Bingo. They can't use Harvard because we're actually trying to solve.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, I'm sure. Yeah, they are.

[Tone Diggs]

I just found out they have universities in Canada.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, they do. They say University of Waterloo, I believe is up there.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Waterloo, yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Waterloo is a good one. So how does this. How's your schooling work up there in Canada? So you guys do the same as us? 12 grades. Exactly. Yep. How come you guys didn't call 1770? Why didn't you guys.

[Boston Connor]

Just because they're still loyal to the Queen.

[Pat McAfee]

To the Queen King. No, they actually fought us in 1812. That's the war of the 1818 12.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

They sided with England and tried to invade.

[Tone Diggs]

I actually looked it up because I was going to tweet it. They don't still pay taxes to the Queen.

[Boston Connor]

You hear yourself, what you've been saying?

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, but you got to remember what Canada did for me personally.

[Boston Connor]

But what going up there.

[Tone Diggs]

Yeah, I think they.

[Boston Connor]

Fuck it.

[Tone Diggs]

Is it true they weren't had a.

[Pat McAfee]

Great time up there?

[Tone Diggs]

They weren't country until like 1975 or something.

[Pat McAfee]

You had a great time down here too. See, I have had a great time down here. Yeah, but we. What I'm saying is it's going to shake their own.

[Boston Connor]

You guys can. I'm staying right here.

[Tone Diggs]

I'm with you, brother.

[Pat McAfee]

Well, we saw that.

[Tone Diggs]

Red, white and blue, not just red and white.

[Boston Connor]

And it's not for you.

[Pat McAfee]

It's been a great week here. We can't thank you enough for joining us. We're gonna get out of here. I will be on NFL Network, I think.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah. Who knows? After Wednesday, we'll see.

[Pat McAfee]

That was a wild scene. Hey, end show about 245. Come on. Come on, Don. Come on, Don. Be at the end of the tail end of the kicking, field goal, kicking session. It'll be electrifying. Then we get right into the punters. You're there. Microphone on the field just like every other position group, you know, has like ex players on the field, you know, get down there. Wasn't even broadcast. Nobody was filming that. There was not a single camera on when I walked down there. That seems like a miscommunication. That's gonna happen. That's life. But today in this place, communication is. Is key. What do you learn about a prospect that makes you think to yourself, you know, I want that person to be in our building? What do you learn about a player that makes you think, you know, that guy can fit in on our football field? What about an undersized. A little Too fat, maybe a little bit too slow guy. What characteristics does he have deep down in his soul and his plums that make me believe that whenever he gets an NFL jersey on and an opportunity to be in the NFL and live his dream, he is going to give his all to that. He's not going to fuck it up. That's what this is all about. And then when you watch these athletes run on the field, what you're seeing is humans do things that they would have never even comprehended 20 years ago, 30 years ago. We might see somebody run a 419 this weekend. 40, that's 120ft. Okay, 419 from a stop. Not allowed to be moving at this ain't a fly. 40. This is from a dead stop. This is like cheetah type shit. This is like this is the fastest car you could get from zero to finish line. This is unbelievable what humans are capable of. And it's all on display this weekend. All the teams are looking to get better, all the players are looking to get drafted. And we're trying to have a fantastic weekend watching it all, enjoying it all and seeing who the hell is going to win. Elimination chamber. We can't thank everybody enough for allowing us to be a part of your day to day. We can't thank everybody enough for rejoining us this week after a two week hiatus. I mean, what an absolute. That was the longest time. It feels so long. Being away. That was maybe a month. It felt like that we weren't doing this. And every time there's like a natural fear, like once we stop, nobody's gonna come back. They're gonna watch other shows once again and say, yeah, we're gonna do this. They're gonna say, you know, my life was better without that dumbass show. A part of my life. That is always the fear, that is always the anxiety. So those of you that have rejoined us, we can't thank you enough for those that are brand new. Yeah, this is how it goes at all of it. Gonna get sued. This is gonna happen. This is gonna. I mean this is the, this is the experience and, and we are incredibly grateful for it all. Just like I'm grateful for all the boys, boys up here. Great work this week. Thank you to the crew. Great work, boys and girls. Great work crew. Great work to the crew. Thank you all so much. From the lighting and miking to the cameraing, to the rigging and building, to OLED from Avon with the LED board legend to Zito and Tim McAfee doing the moving of this whole thing to Faso being on an email chain since December in making sure all the I's are dotted and T's are crossed. We appreciate you Fossil to Brusso having do a little moving. You're the best. Brownie, into the truck. Great work, boys. Great work. Truck. Just saw Grigson walk by. He appears to be. Yeah, he's 275. He's back.

[Tone Diggs]

He's that big guy.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, he's the, he's the orangutan looking fella. Holy fuck, he's jacked. Hey, he looks big guy, big boy.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

It's like Andrew Whitworth kind of.

[Tone Diggs]

I thought that was.

[Pat McAfee]

It was nice catching up with him last year at this event, chit chatting, hearing some things from his side, allowing him to hear things from my side and then boom, bang, we move on. A lot of mingling, a lot of talking and we're so lucky that we've been here. We'll see you on Monday. It's going to be a good one. Matthew Stafford staying with the Rams. What happens with all the quarterbacks? How about all these draft prospects? Who pops this weekend, who drops this weekend? What are the storylines coming out of Indianapolis from the insiders other than they just try to fight each other at Starbucks? Sure, we shall see. We'll be on it all. All right, boys, be a friend. Tell a friend something. Oh, oh. Big Night out is coming soon to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This is a show that I believe is unprecedented.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

I would say so, yeah, for sure.

[Pat McAfee]

Mad Mel, what would your descriptor be of Big Night out after what you know of it, what you've heard of it and everything like that?

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

I would say, I mean, unprecedented is a good word. It's a show that basically has everything you could want in a show. If you were going to show up to some sort of event, everything you could think of. It will be involved.

[Pat McAfee]

Big laughs, big sing alongs, big giveaways. Big Night out coming soon to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This one is fascinating for me because I've always, I've wanted to do the show for years, I'd say. Yeah, years, literally. I've been wanting to do a show like this for years. I've. I think it'd be good for people, you know, to just kind of watch a spectacle take place and to do that, it takes a lot of prep, takes a lot of planning, takes a lot of cashola and I think we're at a point where it's going to be awesome and the people that are going to be a part of it. There's massive surprises. I don't even know how to. I don't even know how to describe the surprises. The giveaway. I mean, you're talking. I think we're going to make somebody a millionaire that night, you know, so, like, there is. I'm trying to make. Yeah. It's going to be a big night out and we can't wait to get to Pittsburgh. With that being said, be a friend. Tell a friend something nice. It might change their life. We're in a sing together. Okay, Team on me. Team on three. One, two, three.

[Tone Diggs]

Team.

[Pat McAfee]

Goodbye. I don't just stand on business. I live it 24 7. Because you don't become a young entrepreneur by staying stagnant. Whether I'm chasing deals, networking, or taking calls from behind the wheel of my.

[Michael Lombardi]

Toyota Crown, I'm always in motion.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

You may think launching a successful startup.

[Pat McAfee]

Is enough to be satisfied, but me, I'm just getting started. It's a new day at Toyota led by a new generation of drivers. And we want you to know one thing. You can't stop my drive Toyota. Let's go places.